Oxfordshire Puddings with Smoked Trout Pate and Fennel Tzatziki

I’m a Yorkshire girl at heart. Well, my Mum is so that’s good enough for me. And being a Yorkshire girl, I like to think that I’m pretty good at making Yorkshire puddings. I make them quite a bit – small ones are my favourite – and 9 times out of 10 they emerge from the oven a perfectly puffed up success.

After a few days of Christmas indulgence I fancied something light and tasty and so decided to make Smoked Trout with Yorkshire Puddings inspired by Jamie Oliver, naturally. The trout bit was easy and completely delicious. I used creme fraiche instead of cream cheese but pretty much followed the recipe to the letter. Clever Jamie. I also made another concoction of fennel, cucumber, yoghurt and dill which made a rather lovely addition. Recipes for both at the end of the post.

So then it was time for the puddings. I did what I was told but in the absence of a suitable fat, I had to use olive oil…and I shall lay the blame right there. They rose but not in the manner a Yorkshire pudding should rise. They were more like puffs and although light and fluffy, there was no hole in the middle which is quite frankly the main reason to make them. I’ve renamed them Oxfordshire Puddings. They were perfectly nice but I’m hoping they’ll just be a one off happy mistake.

And here they are in all their glory.

Oxfordshire Puddings

The meal itself was really delicious and definitely a welcome change from the mountains of chestnut stuffing which is now safely boxed and frozen.

The recipes :

Baby Yorkshire Puddings with Creamy Smoked Trout Pate

from Jamie’s Great Britain

For the creamy smoked trout
• 125g cream cheese
• 2-3 heaped teaspoons
jarred horseradish
• 1 lemon
• a small bunch of fresh
chives, finely chopped
• sea salt and ground pepper
• 125g hot-smoked trout,
skin removed
• rapeseed oil

For the Yorkies
(makes 16 baby Yorkies)
• vegetable oil
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 100g plain flour
• 100ml milk
• lemon wedges, to serve

Put the cream cheese into a mixing bowl with the horseradish, the zest of 1 lemon and the juice from half, and mix together. Mix in most of the chopped chives, then have a taste and add a pinch of salt and pepper. It’s very important that this mixture has a bolshie attitude – it should be hot, smoky, salty, so add more horseradish or lemon juice if needed. Flake in the trout, removing any skin and bones, then use a spatula to fold the mixture together gently so you have smaller bits and nice chunks. Decant into a single nice serving dish or several little bowls or cups, then drizzle over a little rapeseed oil and sprinkle over a few more chopped chives. Cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge to get nice and cold.

When you’re nearly ready to eat, preheat the oven to full whack (about 240°C/475°F/gas 9) while you make your Yorkshire pudding batter. Get yourself a mini muffin tin (you can buy these easily online or in cooks’ shops) and pour a little thimble of vegetable oil into the 16 compartments of the tin, so you have a thin layer covering the bottom of each. Pop the tray on to the top shelf in the hot oven for around 10 to 15 minutes, so the oil get so hot that it smokes. While you’re doing that, aggressively beat the eggs, flour, milk and a pinch of salt and pepper together, either by hand or in a food processor, until light and smooth. Transfer the mixture into a jug.

Carefully take the tray out of the oven and quickly and confidently pour the batter into the hot tin so it nearly fills each well. Return the tray to the top shelf of the oven to cook for around 10 to 12 minutes, or until the Yorkies are puffed up and golden. Whatever you do, don’t open the oven door! Get your cold cups and bowls of potted fish out of the fridge and serve on a board with those sizzling hot little Yorkies and some lemon wedges.

Fennel Tzatziki

by Me

1 bulb fennel

half a cucumber

dill

zest of 1 lemon

olive oil

250ml plain yoghurt

salt and pepper

Grate the fennel and the cucumber and put in a bowl. Add the yoghurt and mix together. Add a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Chop up the dill and add the lemon zest, mix. Serve in a nice bowl. And that’s it.

Oxfordshire Puddings with Smoked Trout Pate and Fennel and Cucumber Splodge

Photos taken on Hipstamatic using the very brilliant Loftus Lens.