The Lea & Perrins ‘Official Dish of Worcestershire’ competition is now over

Jill Jessop pictureTHE WORCESTERSHIRE WARMER, CREATED BY JILL JESSOP, HAS BEEN CROWNED THE LEA AND PERRINS OFFICIAL DISH OF WORCESTERSHIRE

A massive thank you to everyone who entered.

On April 6th-28th Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce offered you the chance to put your dish on the culinary map and join the raft of UK renowned regional specialities like the Cornish pasty, the Yorkshire Pudding, Lancashire Hotpot and the Cumberland sausage.

On 15th May creators of the top ten dishes came to our famous factory in Worcester to take part in the grand final and have their creations put to the test by panel of expert judges. The winner, Jill Jessop from St. John’s Worcester, took home a cash prize of £1000 and the coveted accolade of having created the Lea & Perrins ‘Official Dish of Worcestershire.’

To see the winning dish and how to create it read below. Why not have a go at making it yourself?

The Worcestershire Warmer by Jill Jessop:

For four people
You will need 4 x4oz. pudding basins
Ingredients:

Suet crust
6oz. prepared suet
12oz. S.R. Flour
half a teasp. salt
1 teasp baking powder

Spicy Lamb Filling.
1 lb organic lamb reared locally chopped into approx. 1 in. pieces.
2 hard eating pears- preferably Worcester Black Pear. However this is not always available -Conference Pears are a good substitute.
Half a pint locally produced Perry.
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 large onion diced.
2 cloves garlic crushed.
2 tbsps lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce.
1 heaped teasp each of powdered cinnamon-cumin-ginger and salt.
2 tbsps. virgin oil
approx. half a pint water.
1 tbsp. pl. flour
pepper to taste.

Method.
Pre-heat oven.
prepare spicy lamb dish first.
toss lamb in cinnamon-ginger -cumin and salt
peel pears and chop into half inch pieces
heat oil in cooking pan-add tossed lamb and saute till lightly browned.
reduce heat and add onions and garlic. cook gently for 1 min.
gradually add tomatoes- Perry- Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce and pears.
add enough water in order to obtain a --coating type consistency--
cover with casserole lid and transfer to heated oven.
cook mfor 15 mins at 200c then reduce heat to 150c and cook for a further 1 hr to 1 hr 30 mins. till lamb is tender but still maintains its shape.

Prepare Suet Crust
grease pudding basins well with butter. Place on one side.
take a large bowl-add in suet together with sieved flour-baking powder and salt.
gradually add sufficient water to bind pastry together.
place pastry on floured board and kneed into a ball.
divide pastry into 4 pieces. cut off a quarter from each piece for the pudding.
roll pastry forwards not sideways.
each piece of pastry must be large enough to cover the inside of the basin.
proceed to line all the basins the same way.
roll out 4 pudding tops. Place on one side.

when lamb is cooked season to taste and allow to cool before filling the suet crusts. meanwhile place steamer on hob to boil.
when filling has cooled using a perforated ladle remove the meat and pears etc. from sauce and place in the suet crusts.
place the suet lids on top carefully pinching the pastry to ensure there are no gaps.
cover each suet crust with a double layer of foil. secure the foil with string round the top of each basin and make a handle with another length of string in order to lift out the pudding from the steamer.
steam for 1hr. and 30 mins.

Prepare Sauce
Ingredients.
remaining sauce from pan
4 fl.oz Perry
1 teasp Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce
1 handful chopped coriander .

Method
Place remaining sauce in pan.
add Perry- Worcester Sauce and coriander.
taste and add seasoning as necessary.

To serve pudding
Carefully invert the pudding --turn upside down.
add sauce.
serve with a mixture of baby new potatoes-french beans-baby carrots and sweetcorn.