Black Bread

Ingredients:

3 tsp dry blood (ask a butcher or check online retailers)

200ml/3/4 cup warm water

500g/2.5 cups bread flour (+ extra for coating)

10g/2 tsp salt

200g/3/4 cup sourdough starter

50g/2.5 tablespoons honey

Method:

Mix the dried blood with the water and whisk to a smooth consistency.

Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and mix together. Add the starter and honey and slowly add the blood solution and mix together to form a dough. You can add more or less water depending on how your dough feels. I find it varies slightly every time.

Tip out onto your worktop and knead for around 10 minutes.

Roll your dough into a ball, and dust with a little flour. Put it into a bowl and cover loosely with a damp cloth, to stop it drying out. Place somewhere warm.

Leave to prove for 3-4 hours, until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

Tip your dough back out onto your work surface and carefully deflate it by poking it with your fingers. Divide the mix into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and coat with a little flour.

Place onto a baking tray, that has been dusted with flour, and leave for another hour or to prove again.

Heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius and cook for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, the rolls should sound hollow when you tap them on the bottom.

These can also be cooked in the dying embers of a fire.

Leave to cool fully before serving with butter.

Blood sausage (black pudding)

Ingredients:

• 100g oats

• 100g barley

• 1 onion

• 100g pork fat

• 3 tsp salt

• 3 tsp ground pepper

• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds

• 1 tsp ground mustard seeds

• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme

• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh savory

• 50g dried blood

• 150ml cold water

• Sausage casings

Method:

Cook the barley until soft, drain and leave to cool.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats and barley. 

Finely chop 1 onion and cut the pork fat into cubes. Add to the bowl of oats and barley, along with the salt, pepper, coriander, thyme and savory. Mix well. 

Mix 50g dried blood with 250ml of cold water and stir into the oat/barley mixture.

Attach a length of sausage casing to a sausage horn or funnel, tying a knot in the bottom.

Stuff the mixture through the horn into the casing.

It's a messy job, best done outside, or in the sink. Avoid over filling the casing, or it will split when being cooked later, as the filling will expand during the process.

Tie the end of the casing, and cook in hot, but not boiling water. If you have a thermometer, you are aiming for around 80 degrees Celsius.

Cook for 60 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool fully.

To eat, slice and fry for several minutes.

Pig Blood Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 spoons dried blood

• 600ml cold water

• 1 tablespoon vinegar

• 400ml fish stock

• 300g Pork belly

• 1 onion

• A small bunch of Wild Garlic

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tsp black pepper

• 1 tsp salt

Method:

Mix together the dried blood and water, until smooth. Stir in the vinegar (this will prevent coagulation when cooking).

Cut the pork belly into chunks and fry in a little butter or oil, for around 10 minutes, until browning on all sides. Peel & thinly slice the onion and add to the pan, frying for a few minutes to soften.

Roughly chop the garlic and add to the pan, along with the blood, fish stock, bay, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for around 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and serve.