With meat and cheese only available in small quantities due to rationing during WW2, it was no wonder that a popular English dish during the medieval times, made it back into wartime cookbooks in the 1940s. Pease Pudding was cheap, packed with protein, and 1 lb of split peas only used up 2 points of your points allowance during rationing.
Originally, Pease Pudding was often made at the beginning of the week and eaten over successive days, hence the old rhyme:
Pease pudding hot! Pease pudding cold! Pease pudding in the pot, Nine day’s old!
Pease Porridge or Pease Pottage (see below) as it was first commonly know as, was traditionally made with dried split yellow peas, cooked in a pot over the fire with salted water, spices and occasionally meat.
I looked at the nutritional value of the Pease Pudding I created and for all 200 g of dried yellow split peas, calories are in the region of 650 kcal, protein is around 50 grams, fibre 15 g, carbohydrates 120 g and the dish contains 85% of your daily recommended iron.
Pease Pottage, Porridge, Pudding
Pottage is a catch all term which meant anything cooked in a pot. In the medieval period cereals were added to the cooking stock from cooking meat.
Pease pottage was eaten at all levels of society in England. And then during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the invention of the pudding cloth revolutionised food for all and made a watery soups into a solid pudding.
Pease pudding gradually died out in the eighteenth century. Once meat became cheaper England’s once national dish became an occasional menu item.
Paul Couchman at The Regency Cook
Here is the basic foundation recipe and I used the alternative method and not the traditional method of cooking as I had no muslin cloth (or string!). You can also use dried green split peas if you haven’t got yellow ones! It’s a really economical recipe as here in the United kingdom, yellow split peas sell for around £2 per kg/2.2 lb. This means that the peas in this recipe cost me 40p!
Pease Pudding
Ingredients
- 200g yellow split peas, soaked for 3+ hours (preferably overnight) in plenty of water
- 750ml water
- 1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (or 1 vegetable stock cube)
Traditional Method vs Alternative Method
- Drain and rinse the soaked split peas.
- Place the soaked peas into a muslin pudding cloth and tie with string.
- Place this into a large pot of boiling water (with bouillon/stock added) and bring to a fast simmer.
- Cover and lower the temperature to a gentle simmer.
- Simmer for 90 minutes or until the peas are tender.
- Remove peas in bag and drain and leave in bag until cool enough to handle.
- Remove peas from bag/cloth into a bowl and mix up with salt and pepper.
- Place back into muslin cloth, tie again and repeat the above for another 30-60 minutes.
- Once cooked drain and place the mixture in a bowl and mash with extra salt and pepper and butter if available
- Serve spread on bread or toast with extras on top
or alternative…
- Drain and rinse the soaked split peas.
- Add to a saucepan and add the water.
- Bring to a fast simmer.
- Skim off any white foamy scum when needed.
- Stir in the bouillon powder or stock cube.
- Cover and lower the temperature to a gentle simmer.
- Simmer for 90-120 minutes or until the peas are tender.
- Stir and mash until fairly smooth adding some butter if you like.
- Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Serve spread on bread or toast with extras on top
I was inspired by Jayelle to make this traditional dish after seeing their below post on The 1940s Experiment Facebook Group – I couldn’t believe I hadn’t recreated this before!
Here are some photos of the process…
