Black pudding is like marmite and I love marmite and I also love black pudding. I have wanted to try it in a salad for so long now. It worked really well. You get a big hit of flavour from the spiced black pudding, crunch from the walnuts, sharpness from the balsamic vinegar and it also enhances the sweetness and texture of the apples. I ate this so quickly at work today particulary as it is chilly at the moment, it was very comforting and got me through the afternoon nicely.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1/2 whole black pudding (about 150g), sliced into chunks
• 1 small bag of salad leaves
• 25g walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 apple, cored and sliced into batons
• 50g soft blue cheese, torn into rough pieces (we used dolcelatte)

For the dressing

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp thin balsamic vinegar (cheaper)
• 1 tsp thick good quality balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp runny honey
• 1/2 tsp of dijon mustard

Directions

1. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the black pudding and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Put on a plate and set aside.
2. To assemble the salad, share the salad leaves between 2 bowls (in our case a bowl and lunchbox) add the apple batons, walnuts and blue cheese. Top with the cooked black pudding.
3. To make the dressing add all of the ingredients into a jar or bowl, shake or whisk thoroughly to combine and pour over the salads. Enjoy.