Roly-poly — pudding and pie

FIRST OF ALL, very many thanks for all the letters about Barm Bread, which is cor- rectly called Barm Brack, I am informed by Dr Ian Dudgeon and others — 'brack' meaning speckled or spotted. It is, in fact, a rich tea-cake. The finest to be found, according to the doctor, are at Bewley's Oriental Café, Grafton Street, Dublin.

I have a very fine dish for you this week, equally good served hot or cold, garnered from my neighbour Caroline Spencer. Mine turned out a treat, so good luck to all.

Filet de porc printanier en pâté For the pastry: 8/2 oz plain white flour

'/2 teaspoon salt 4/2 oz butter 7 fluid oz sour cream 72 tablespoon white wine vinegar or brandy

Make the pastry a day in advance. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Melt the but- ter very gently until liquid but not warm; if it is warm it hardens the dough. Mix into the flour with the other ingredients, stirring with a spatula until smooth. Do not knead. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Divide the dough into three equal parts. Roll out each piece as thin as possible, then place them on top of each other. Fold into a con- venient size like a letter into three, one way, then again the other way. Wrap in greaseproof paper and a cloth. Refrigerate.

For the filling:

1 lb filet of pork (in one piece if possible) 1 lb first-class pork sausage-meat 4-6 slices of ham Several large handfuls of green herbs: thyme, parsley, chives, tarragon, chervil, etc.

1 large clove of garlic (optional) 4 fluid oz single cream 4 fluid oz full-cream milk 2/1 oz fresh white breadcrumbs Salt, pepper, English mustard 1 egg and a little milk for egg wash

Rub the filet with salt, fresh ground pep- per and mustard. Fry rapidly and briefly in butter with a drop of oil. Purée the herbs (I used the ones above and some watercress; a few leaves of spinach wouldn't come amiss) in some form of whizzer with the milk and cream.

Mix With the sausage-meat (I bought those pure meat sausages from my Italian delicatessen and peeled them) and bread- crumbs. Season to taste, remembering the saltiness of the ham. Roll out the pastry an inch longer than the filet and about three times as wide. Spread the sausage mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about an inch margin. Lay the slices of ham over it, overlapping if necessary. Place the filet in the middle and wrap it into a parcel. Moist- en the lap over with the egg wash, press ends firmly together, turn over onto an oiled baking tray so that the join is on the bottom. Paint with egg wash all over the top, pierce with a sharp pointed knife in several places to allow steam to escape.

Paint again with the egg and bake in a pre- heated oven for about 45 minutes at Gas 5- 6, 390F, 200C. When ready, let it rest for 10 minutes, then carve in slices. The sausage- meat mixture should be bright green, so don't stint the herbs. Very beautiful indeed.

And now its country cousin from Jane Scrivener:

Plough pudding

72 lb plain flour 74 lb suet 6 bacon rashers — streaky 2 onions 1 tablespoon chopped sage 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar 74 lb pork sausage-meat Salt and pepper

Mix the flour, suet, a pinch of salt and some fresh ground pepper. Add enough water to form a stiff paste. Roll out on a floured board to V2-inch thick. Spread even- ly with the sausage-meat. Chop the onions and bacon fairly finely, add the sage, mix well and spread over the sausage-meat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the sugar. Roll into a sausage shape and tie into a well floured cloth, securing the ends tightly with string. Plunge into a large saucepan of boiling water and boil for 21/2 hours. Lift from the pan, remove the cloth and place on a good hot dish. Cover with onion sauce and serve with some spring greens, cabbage and carrots.

To make an onion sauce, slice about '/4 lb of onions as thin as possible. Stew them in 2 oz of butter until soft and yellow. Stir in a level tablespoon of flour until all is amalga- mated. Have ready about /2 pint of warmed milk or good stock or a mixture of both. Add dollop by dollop to the onions, bring to simmering point and cook for 30 min- utes, giving it the odd stir. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Jennifer Paterson