Chef Thomas
Baked Onions with Cream and Thyme
Whole onions surrendered to a low oven with cream and thyme until they collapse into something golden, sweet and yielding, the kind of side dish that quietly upstages everything else on the table.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Pease Pudding
Created by Chef Thomas
Yellow split peas, simmered slowly in ham stock until thick, golden, and savoury, spooned alongside something salty and good. A dish that has been keeping people warm for centuries and sees no reason to stop.
Side Dishes
British
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
15 min
Active Time
2 hr cook•PT2H15M plus overnight soaking total
Yield6 servings
Cold rain on the kitchen window. The kind of grey afternoon in late November when the light is gone by four and the house needs warming from the inside. That's when I reach for the split peas.
Pease pudding is old. Older than most things you'll cook this year. It fed people long before anyone thought to write a recipe for it, and it survives because it works. Yellow split peas, good stock, patience. The peas soften over a couple of hours into something thick and golden that smells of warmth and ham and the kind of kitchen you want to sit in with your coat still on. A knob of butter stirred through at the end makes it glossy. An egg binds it together. That's the whole of it.
It belongs beside boiled ham. That's the partnership, the old northeastern one: a piece of ham simmered in its own stock, the peas cooked in the same liquor, the two arriving at the table together the way they always have. But it sits just as happily next to roast pork, good sausages, or a plate of greens if you'd rather keep things simple. I've eaten it cold the next day, spread on toast, and written it down in the notebook with the note: "better than it has any right to be."
We're only making dinner. But this one carries weight. The kind of quiet, filling, golden warmth that reminds you what home cooking is for.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
yellow split peas
Quantity
500g
soaked overnight and drained
ham stock or good chicken stock
Quantity
1 litre
bay leaf
Quantity
1
unsalted butter
Quantity
30g
onion
Quantity
1 medium
halved
egg
Quantity
1
beaten
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
white pepper
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| yellow split peassoaked overnight and drained | 500g |
| ham stock or good chicken stock | 1 litre |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| unsalted butter | 30g |
| onionhalved | 1 medium |
| eggbeaten | 1 |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| white pepper | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy-bottomed saucepan or stockpot
- •Wooden spoon
- •Large bowl for soaking
Instructions
- 1
Soak the peas
The night before, put the split peas in a large bowl and cover with cold water by a good few inches. They'll swell to nearly twice their size overnight. Drain and rinse them the next day. This isn't optional. Unsoaked peas will cook eventually, but they'll fight you the whole way, and the texture won't be the same.
If you forget to soak them overnight, cover with boiling water and leave for two hours. It's not ideal, but it works. - 2
Simmer the peas slowly
Put the drained peas into a heavy pan with the stock, the bay leaf, and the onion halved and dropped in whole. Bring to a gentle simmer. Not a boil. A boil makes the peas frothy and agitated; a simmer lets them soften into themselves. Cook for an hour and a half to two hours, stirring now and then, particularly towards the end when the pudding thickens and starts to catch on the bottom if you aren't paying attention. The peas should collapse entirely, losing their shape, turning into something thick, golden, and porridge-like. Add a splash more stock or water if the pan runs dry before the peas are ready.
- 3
Fish out and finish
Pull out the bay leaf and the onion halves. They've done their work. Beat the butter into the hot peas until it melts through and the whole thing turns glossy. Then stir in the beaten egg quickly, while the pudding is still properly hot, so the egg cooks on contact and binds the mixture together. It should look smooth and thick, like something between porridge and a rough puree. Season with salt and white pepper. Taste it. The salt matters here more than anywhere. Underseasoned pease pudding is dull; well-seasoned pease pudding is golden and savoury and quietly magnificent.
- 4
Serve it warm
Spoon it out generously alongside boiled ham, roast pork, or good sausages. It wants something salty and rich beside it. A knob of butter melting on top as it goes to the table isn't necessary, but it is correct. Leftover pease pudding, cold from the fridge the next day, spread thickly on toast with a grind of pepper, is one of the quieter pleasures of the kitchen.
For a smoother result, push the finished pudding through a sieve or blend briefly. I prefer it rough, with some texture left. It should feel handmade.
Chef Tips
- •If you have the stock from boiling a ham, use it. Nothing will give pease pudding more flavour than the water a piece of gammon or ham has simmered in for hours. That stock, salty and rich and smoky, is the foundation. Good chicken stock will do if you haven't got it, but ham stock is the real thing.
- •The egg is traditional and gives the pudding body, a slight set that helps it hold together on the plate. If you leave it out, you'll have something looser, more like a thick soup. Both are good. The egg just gives it a bit of backbone.
- •Don't rush the simmer. The split peas need time to break down completely. If they're still holding their shape after an hour, the heat is too low or they weren't soaked long enough. Keep going. You'll know it's ready when the spoon stands up in the pan and the kitchen smells like something your grandmother might have made.
- •Cold pease pudding, set firm in the fridge overnight and spread on thick toast with butter and black pepper, is a meal in itself. It keeps for four or five days and improves as the flavour deepens.
Advance Preparation
- •Pease pudding must be started the night before to allow for soaking the split peas. Plan accordingly.
- •The finished pudding keeps well in the fridge for up to five days, covered. It sets firm as it cools, which makes it easy to slice or spread. Reheat gently with a splash of stock to loosen it.
- •Freezes well for up to three months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat slowly, adding stock to bring it back to the right consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 220g)
Calories
350 calories
Total Fat
6 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
45 mg
Sodium
650 mg
Total Carbohydrates
53 g
Dietary Fiber
22 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
23 g
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