Pease pudding is made with yellow split peas and usually flavoured with ham stock. Using miso paste along with ginger and garlic adds a rich savoury flavour but keeps it vegan. The split peas also go well with wilted, grilled or stir-fried greens such as spring greens, savoy cabbage, hispi cabbage or romaine lettuce.
Fresh radish, miso split peas and radish top dressing
SERVES 2, VEGAN
· 150g of split yellow peas
· Fresh or frozen ginger
· Fresh or frozen garlic
· Yellow miso
· 1 bunch of radishes (with leaves)
· Olive oil
· Lemon
· Salt
· Pepper
For the yellow split peas:
1. Rinse the peas under cold water and place in a pan. Cover with 850g of cold water. Add the equivalent of 3 cloves of garlic and 1 thumb sized pieces of ginger (chopped roughly). Bring to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The peas should become soft and mushy. If they are still hard, cook for a little longer, adding more water if they are drying out.
2. Add 1 tbsp of yellow miso and stir in. Continue cooking, whilst stirring, for 10-15 minutes until they become very soft and break down even further. Taste and add more miso if needed. Also had a good amount of black pepper- there will probably be enough salt from the miso but add more if you like.
3. The miso split peas can be served warm or left to cool and served as a dip. They can be blended into a smoother paste or kept chunky. Both ways work well. The peas will thicken as they cool.
4. For extra richness, stir through a little butter or vegan butter.
For the radish top dressing:
1. If the leaves of the radishes are still green and fresh, they can be eaten. They are a bit fibrous, so are best cooked or blended.
2. For a dressing, pull the radish leaves off their stems. Bring a small pan of water to the boil and add the radish leaves- cook for 10-15seconds. Then drain and run under cold water. Squeeze out any excess water.
3. Place the leaves in a small jar or mug (one bunch of radishes doesn’t provide that many leaves, so use a small container). Cover with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Use a stick blender to puree the radish leaves into a dressing. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Radish leaves can also be added to a pesto, a stir-fry or mixed into other wilted greens.
For the radishes:
1. If the radishes are muddy or covered in soil, soak in a bowl of cold water for 15-30minutes which will make them easier to clean. Or just clean in cold water.
2. Serve fresh radishes with hot or cold miso split peas and drizzle with the radish top dressing (optional).