|
 I
was rummaging around in a box of recipes that my Mother had collected and
came across this champion clootie dumpling recipe. The Sunday Post offered
to send it out and they got over 25,000 requests for it so they printed in
their paper and obviously my Mother must have cut it out at the time. I do
know it was a favourite with all the family. She made one small
amendment to it as you'll note in the picture. She substituted a Milk
Stout for the Milk.
(Note: Milk Stout is a dark
strong beer. A Cloot is a square of linen cloth - I remember cutting up a
pillow case to create one. Currants are actually small raisins - the dried
fruit of the Zante grape, originally from Corinth, Greece.)
This is actually a very
versatile dish. I remember eating it on it's own, just taking a slice and
munching away. We would have it as a sweet, hot with custard or just
sprinkled with sugar. Had it for breakfast with bacon and eggs. Hot or
cold it is excellent and lasts a good while.
Alastair McIntyre
PS Click on the picture to get a larger one to
print out :-)
PPS As I've had several emails saying you
can't print this picture out here is the text of it here...
HONESTLY, we’ve never known anything like it.
Last week, we offered readers a copy of the champion dumpling recipe from
Mrs Jay Baird, Howgate, near Penicuik. We were swamped. By midweek,
dumpling (ever had reached epidemic proportions, w had 25,000 applications
lying in sackloads around the office. We couldn’t move for them!
So please bear with us
while we reprint the recipe and deal with distribution. The recipes will
reach you as soon as we can get them out. Meanwhile, to help sufferers of
clootie-itis who are suffering withdrawal symptoms, here is the recipe
everyone is clamouring for:-
Ingredients — 6oz
self raising flour, 6oz brown breadcrumbs, 6 oz suet, 1 teaspoon
bicarbonate soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon,
I teaspoon ginger, 4 oz currents, 6 oz. sultanas, 4 oz. soft dark
brown sugar, 2 tablespoons syrup approx. 1½ cups milk [or Milk Stout].
Method — Place your
clout in boiling water. Mix all the ingredients together with the milk to
make a fairly soft consistency. Make sure everything is mixed well.
Take the cloot out of the water and
wring and they lay it out flat and dredge well with flour. Smooth the
flour over the cloot with your hands to get an even spread.
Place the mixture on the cloot, draw
it together evenly, leaving room for expansion, and tie the cloot with
string.
Put a plate in the bottom of the pot
and the cloot and mixture on top of that.
Use a large pot, big enough to allow covering
the cloot with water. That way there will be no need to top up through the
cooking.
Simmer the dumpling for two
to three hours. Remove from the pot and put it in a colander in the sink.
Untie the string and gently
pull the corners of the cloot apart.
Put a plate over the dumpling in the colander
and whip it over.
Carefully peel the cloot away from
one corner and you should have a dumpling to match our champion’s.
Mrs Baird doesn't believe in drying
off a dumpling, she reckons that
makes it hard. |
