Steamed Carrot Pudding

November moving through its second week. The dark is complete now — four o'clock, reliable, the world going dark before dinner even begins. The woodstove has been burning every day. The farm is in its winter mode: the interior work, the long cooking, the reading and writing in the evenings. This is the season I've come to associate with depth rather than restriction.

Made a proper cassoulet this week — the fifth time, the ongoing refinement. I've arrived at something close to my definitive version: the proportion of beans to meat, the oven time, the texture of the final crust. The duck confit I'd made in October, the good sausage from Burlington that Carol found two years ago, the white beans soaked overnight. Two days of work, six portions, three days of eating. November food in the truest sense.

Thanksgiving is two weeks away. Carol is hosting for the second year running and she's been calling every few days to coordinate. I'm bringing apple pies (two), the cranberry relish from Helen's 1987 notebook that became a tradition at one Thanksgiving, and the turkey stock I'll make this week from the neck and giblets I bought ahead. The division of labor has settled into something natural. We each know our part.

Teddy called Sunday with a full account of his week's cooking: the duck confit again (third time, he says it's right now), and a tarte Tatin he made for the first time from a recipe he found. He described the caramelization with precision. He said: the apples have to be fully caramelized before the pastry goes on, or the bottom is wrong. He figured that out on the first attempt from reading the texture wrong. You learn from what doesn't work as much as from what does.

After two days of cassoulet work — the soaking, the rendering, the slow oven — I wanted a dessert with the same unhurried commitment, something that couldn’t be rushed and didn’t try to be. Steamed carrot pudding is exactly that: an old method, a long cook, a result that rewards the patience the season asks of you. It’s the kind of thing Helen would have made without thinking twice, and the kind of thing Teddy, if he called next Sunday with a cooking report, might describe with the same precision he brought to the tarte Tatin caramelization — because it, too, has a moment when you either get it right or you don’t.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours | Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 cup finely grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
1 cup finely grated raw potato (about 1 medium potato), moisture squeezed out
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup suet or cold unsalted butter, grated
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
Butter for greasing the mold

Instructions

Prepare the mold. Generously butter a 6-cup pudding mold or heatproof bowl. Set a rack or folded kitchen towel in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill with 3 inches of water. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
Squeeze the vegetables. Grate the carrots and potato. Wrap the potato in a clean cloth and wring out as much moisture as possible. Combine with the grated carrots in a large mixing bowl.
Mix the batter. Add the flour, brown sugar, raisins, suet or grated butter, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt to the carrot-potato mixture. Stir well to combine. Add the beaten egg and mix until everything comes together into a thick, cohesive batter.
Fill and cover the mold. Spoon the batter into the prepared mold, packing it gently to eliminate air pockets. Fill to within 1 inch of the rim. Cover tightly with a double layer of buttered foil, crimping the edges firmly around the rim. Secure with kitchen twine if needed.
Steam the pudding. Lower the mold onto the rack in the simmering pot. The water should reach halfway up the sides of the mold. Cover the pot, adjust heat to maintain a steady simmer, and steam for 2 hours. Check the water level every 30 minutes and add boiling water as needed to maintain depth.
Test for doneness. The pudding is done when a skewer inserted through the foil into the center comes out clean. Remove the mold from the pot and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
Unmold and serve. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pudding and invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm, with hard sauce, cream, or a simple brown sugar custard alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Steamed Carrot Pudding — The Old-Fashioned November Dessert That Belongs Beside Cassoulet