WINCHESTER celebrity chef James Martin shares with us an unusual recipe from his new book Eating In with James Martin. (Priced £14.99 from all good bookshops)

The fact that black pudding is made from pig's blood mixed with oatmeal, suet and onion may not appeal to you, but I consider its one of the true essentials to breakfast cooking. The best comes from butchers' shops, as they are usually made on the premises. These have much more flavour and taste than the commercial, branded black pudding.

I believe that black puddings should be sliced and pan-fried. The cooking time is important as well as the heat of the pan, and you don't need much fat. A cooked slice of black pudding should be slightly crisp on the edges but moist in the centre.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2

175g(6oz)black pudding cut into 1 cm(1/2 in) slices 1 Golden Delicious apple 55g (2oz) butter 1 tablespoon caster sugar 50 ml(2 fl oz) cider Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

1 Place two frying pans on a stove and heat up to a high heat while you prepare the apple. Core the apple whole, then cut in half and slice each half into five slices.

2 Divide the butter between two pans, and put the sugar in one of them. Place the black pudding into the non-sugared pan, reduce the heat and cook for 2-3 minutes, turning occasionally.

3 When the sugar and butter in the other pan have started to turn golden brown, add the apple slices. Turn up the heat and quickly caramelise the apple: about 3 minutes. Pour in the cider to de-glaze the pan, stirring well, and season quickly with salt and pepper.

4 To serve, either put the apple mixture and black pudding into separate bowls or onto plates for the two of you to help yourself from, or arrange the black pudding on the two plates with the apple on top.

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