today

Christmas 2007.

this is the summer pudding that I made for Christmas lunch with the orphans this year. I'm sure that Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall would scold me for using frozen berries instead of spending weeks trying to track down perfect, locally grown red currants and raspberries, but needs must ...

I was so amazed that the fragile concoction of soft fruit, panettone and liquid maintained its architectural integrity that I had to take this photo to commemorate the occasion.

Here is the recipe: I purchased about 1kg of frozen berries, including raspberries, blueberries and red currants. I bought 150g of raw castor sugar and 50ml of water gently to the boil in a large saucepan and let it simmer until the colour darkened a little. Off the heat, I added a vanilla pod, and half a bottle of valpolichella. I bought it all back to a simmer, then added half of the fruit, and let it cook a little. Off the heat again, I added the juice of half a lemon, and the rest of the fruit.

At this point, I discovered that the white sourdough loaf that I had bought and sliced into 1cm slices was not going to cover the surface area of a 2 liter pudding basin. So, I decided that even though it was a risk, and I chanced the scorn of purists, I would have to find something else. Buying a 'good quality white sourdough loaf' anywhere in inner Melbourne on Christmas Eve was a fruitless search, so I biked over to the nearest Italian cake store and bought a panettone. I cut this into 1cm slices and lined the basin. I added half the fruit, then a slice of panettone for structural soundness, then the rest of the fruit and the juice. I finished off with more panettone on the base, weighted the top with a small plate, then placed it in the fridge.

About 2 hours before serving, I took it out of the fridge so it was cool, rather than chilled, when we ate it. I beat some pouring cream to a pleasing consistency and stirred in some creme fraiche.

Nigel Slater heaps scorn on those who toy with the simple elegance of this classic British pudding, questions the wisdom of using anything other than a white sandwich loaf, and despises the addition of foreign ingredients. Being something of a international cooking skeptic myself (the thought of a 'risotto with asian herbs' sends shivers up my spine), I never would have considered using an Italian Christmas bread in this recipe had I not been forced to do so - but I'm learning that sometimes it's OK to be flexible.

I'll try it with the sandwich loaf next time.