Black Pudding, Apple and Green Bean Salad

On Saturday I found myself standing in the co-op staring blankly at a wall of ready-made sandwiches contemplating lunch. I eat a lot of ready-made sandwiches – mostly during the working week – and they’re almost universally disappointing. Faced with this sad choice again I looked around for something a little different and as I paced up and down the aisle I noticed a packet of trimmed green beans sitting in the veg section. Seeing the packet made me think of a warm salad of black pudding, apple and beans that I’d had a year ago in an Edinburgh restaurant and really enjoyed. It was just the kind of dish that would make a really quick and easy weekend lunch.

Unfortunately the only black pudding I could get hold of was a packet of Halls less than stellar slices. But they’d do for a quick lunch. And a quick lunch it was! Peeling and slicing the apple took almost as long as the cooking! The black pudding took just a couple of minutes to cook as did the apples and beans once I added them to the pan. Finally I mixed all the ingredients into a bowl and a drizzle of olive oil finished it off. Yum!

If you have a bottle of cider lying around it might be good to make a quick sauce by deglazing the pan with the cider and stirring in some wholegrain mustard.

Serves 1

1 apple, peeled and sliced
2 slices of black pudding (preferably Stornoway black pudding)
Small handful of green beans

Fry the black pudding for a minute on each side in some olive oil, then set to one side on a sheet of kitchen paper.
Add the apple to the pan and gently fry it for a few minutes until it’s golden brown.
Finally add the beans to the pan and warm them through.
Crumble the black pudding back in with the apples and beans then pour into a small bowl or plate and drizzle with olive oil to serve.