When I was a child, roast beef on a Sunday was a real treat because we normally had roast pork (I grew up in Lincolnshire) and our favourite thing about it was that we also got to eat Yorkshire pudding. Nowadays, Yorkshire pudding is served with any roast meat but it used to be the classic accompaniment just for roast beef. For the enlightenment of my overseas readers, it was originally served to fill you up as meat was so expensive, but also because the beef dripping from the roast would be used to cook the batter mix to give it more flavour. My Yorkshire Auntie Kath also used to serve a sweet version for dessert with sugar and syrup but I preferred the savoury version my mother made to her Yorkshire mother’s recipe. If I have lots of people round for a Sunday roast, I make one large one or lots of little ones. I also batch cook a tray for the freezer to use for when there’s just the two of us, they reheat really well in the oven from frozen. I’m sure every family has their own recipe but this is mine; best served with lashings of delicious gravy!

Serves 8 medium, 12 small or one large pudding

• 3 eggs
• 165ml water
• 225ml whole milk
• 225g plain spelt flour (you can use standard white flour but spelt has more flavour and is kinder on the digestive system)
• Beef dripping, enough for a small square at the bottom of each of the12 roasting tin cups or 2 tbsps for a large roasting tray. If you’re not using your beef roasting fat just buy blocks of beef dripping from your butcher or supermarket. I use the Britannia brand. You can use vegetable oil of course, it just won’t taste the same. The fat should just lightly cover the bottom of the container, you don’t need it to be swimming in fat
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper – this is the magic seasoning, never black pepper
• A pinch of salt

To make…

• Mix the eggs, milk, water, salt and pepper together in a large jug or bowl with a rotary or ballon whisk. Then, whisk in the flour and make sure that there are no lumps. The batter should be silky. I usually leave mine to stand for an hour but opinion is divided on the necessity of this step!
• Add the fat to the baking tray or dish and then place it in a very hot oven. It should be hot already from cooking your meat roast and potatoes. The puddings need to cook at 220C for 20 to 25 minutes. The fat needs to be smoking hot so that the batter sizzles as soon as it hits the fat. Never add the batter to cold fat. If it doesn’t sizzle with the first drop of batter it isn’t hot enough, put the tray back in the oven!
• Once the fat is hot enough pour the batter evenly into each cup or tray and then put it in the middle of your very hot oven. Don’t be tempted to open the door during cooking or they either won’t rise at all or they will deflate.
• Take the tray out of the oven and serve immediately. I like to serve it on a big platter with the meat one end and the roast potatoes and the Yorkies at the other if I make individual ones.
• Serve with lashings of gravy made with the meat juices and vegetable water, crunchy roast potatoes (also cooked in beef dripping or goose fat) and at least two other vegetables. My late mother-in-law, also a Yorkshire-woman, said you always had to have carrots and a dark green vegetable so that it didn’t look like one big pile of beige and brown on your plate. Oh, and creamed horseradish and/or English mustard for the beef of course. Apple crumble and custard for dessert anyone?

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