Take your brunch to the next level with this recipe from A Taste of the Highlands by award-winning food writer Ghillie Basan. Featuring a hundred recipes gleaned on her travels around the Highlands, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary, as well as the stories of the people she meets, this is a magnificent celebration of life and food in one of the world’s most beautiful places.

Black Pudding with Marinated Burnt Tomatoes and Feta on Toast from A Taste of the Highlands

When John Eric told me he liked his black pudding on toast, I thought I would create a brunch-style dish with it. The combination of marinated burnt tomatoes and salty feta work well with the black pudding, and you can always add a poached or fried egg to beef up your brunch.

Serves 4
For the marinated tomatoes
200ml rapeseed oil
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
200ml white wine or cider vinegar
1–2 tsp creamed horseradish
2 tsp sugar
2 shallots or 1 small red onion, finely chopped
1–2 tbsp capers, drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a knob of butter
8 slices Ritchies Aultbea black pudding
4–8 slices of sourdough bread for toasting
a small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
120g feta cheese, rinsed, drained and crumbled

Heat a heavy-based pan and, using a piece of kitchen paper, lightly smear it with a drop of the rapeseed oil. Place the tomatoes in the pan, open-side down, to sear for about 5 minutes, until they begin to burn around the edges.

Meanwhile in a bowl, mix together the rapeseed oil, vinegar, creamed horseradish and sugar. Stir in the shallots and capers and season with salt and pepper. When the tomatoes have blackened, gently combine them with the dressing and put aside.

Heat the butter in the same pan and cook the slices of black pudding for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the plastic casing, if still on, and keep warm while you toast the slices of bread.

Place the black pudding slices onto the toast and gently spread them with a knife. Spoon the marinated tomatoes on top and finish with a sprinkling of parsley and feta. Enjoy while the toast and black pudding are still warm.