Sausages, black pudding & cider jelly with boxty

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the cider jelly a few days before you serve it. Ideally, you need a kitchen thermometer for this. Put a small plate in the freezer when you start making the jelly. Have two 500ml sterilised jars ready and warming.

2. 2

   Put the pectin in a large saucepan, blend in the cider, vinegar, sugar and rosemary, then bring slowly to the boil, stirring occasionally to help the sugar dissolve. Bring to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 3-5 minutes, then test for a set. If you have a thermometer, look for the setting point of 104-5ºC.

3. 3

   Pull the pan off the heat, and put a teaspoon of jelly onto the cold plate. Put this back in the freezer for about 4 minutes, then push the jelly with your index finger – it should wrinkle. You can get a soft wrinkle or a firm one, but you need a wrinkle. It can take time. Put the pan back on the heat, bring to the boil and test again. Take the rosemary out of the jelly and skim off the foam on top

4. 4

   Pour or ladle into the warm sterilised jars. When cool enough to handle – but before they get to room temperature – cover them with vinegar-proof lids. Set aside to cool completely, ideally for a couple of days.

5. 5

   For the boxty, put the oven on a low heat. Coarsely grate the potatoes into a clean tea towel and pull the cloth up around them. Squeeze out as much moisture as possible into a bowl. Lay the potato on another tea towel to dry. Leave the bowl with the juices aside.

6. 6

   After about 30 minutes, put the grated potato into a bowl with ½ tsp salt and some black pepper. Drain the water off the potato juices until you get to the starchy bit at the bottom of the bowl. Add this to the grated potato with the buttermilk. Add enough flour to help everything come together – don’t overmix.

7. 7

   Heat the oil and butter in a 20cm frying pan. Cook over a medium heat, pressing the boxty into the pan, then turn the heat down low. After 15 minutes, a crust should form. Turn the boxty over and cook until a crust forms on the other side, about 10 minutes. It’s important that the interior is cooked before the outside is too dark.

8. 8

   When the boxty is ready, place on kitchen paper to blot excess fat, then transfer to an ovenproof dish and put into the oven.

9. 9

   Clean the pan with kitchen paper. Add a little more oil and cook the sausages for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown, cooked through with no pink meat and juices that run clear. Keep warm in the oven with the boxty, then fry the black pudding for 5-7 minutes. The black pudding takes less time, but you need to get a good crust on both sides of the slices.

10. 10

    Serve the sausages, black pudding and boxty together with the cider jelly and roast cabbage wedges with caraway (search online for a recipe), on the side.