How to Make Dock Pudding

Check out this traditional recipe, which uses dock leaves and nettle tops. Delicious served with bacon.

Ingredients

• 115g/4oz young nettle tops
• 450g/1lb Bistort dock leaves (substitute spinach if unavailable), stalks removed
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 5 heaped tbsp medium oatmeal
• 8 rashers dry-cured bacon
• 1 free-range egg
• bread and butter, to serve

Preparation method

1. Soak the nettle tops in lightly salted water for 5 minutes. Drain the nettles and rinse well with cold water.
2. Put the dock leaves, drained nettle tops and onion in a pan. Pour in 300ml/½ pint water and boil for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.
3. Finely slice the dock leaves, spinach and onion mixture on a chopping board. Return to the pan and stir in the oatmeal. Add enough of the cooking liquid to make a wet mixture, season with salt and pepper. Cook over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes, adding more cooking liquid if the mixture becomes too dry and starts to stick to the pan. The cooked mixture should be moist, but not wet. Leave to cool.
4. Fry the bacon over a medium heat until crisp, then remove from the frying pan and keep warm. Add the dock pudding mixture to the pan and stir to coat in the bacon fat. Spread the mixture in an even layer over the base of the pan, break the egg on top and immediately stir vigorously through the mixture until cooked through and no raw egg remains.
5. Slice the pudding into wedges, and serve with the bacon and bread and butter
   
   

   Less than 30 minspreparation time

   30 mins to 1 hourcooking time

   Serves 4