To make the Christmas pudding, first I add soaked raisins, sugar, self-raising flour, breadcrumbs, allspice, margarine, rum, and a few finely chopped dried figs to a mixing bowl. I haven’t got any of the latter, so I substitute in dried apricots, and – spurred on by this stroke of culinary genius – throw in a half-eaten packet of flaked almonds that was mendacity round within the cabinet.
Then I grate an apple right into a form of mulch, attempting my finest to disregard the more and more insistent nudges of the small black rabbit by my ankles – who can odor it from throughout the room. As soon as this has been added to the combination, it simply must be packed right into a greased pudding basin. I haven’t got one among these, and shopping for one only for this recipe would tip the emissions off the size – so I exploit an everyday ceramic soup bowl as a substitute. The whole thing is wrapped in layers of foil and baking paper, and immersed in water within the gradual cooker. It is set to low, and left for 10 hours.
To serve, I add some oat cream (0.56g CO2e per kg). Alas, I’m compelled to skip the same old customized of setting it aflame – with emissions of 8.22g CO2e per kg, the brandy this trick requires comes out increased than some fish. The result’s eminently edible, significantly if you have not actually simply eaten a complete roast – candy, wealthy, and buttery, maybe much more so than meant as a result of I by chance slow-cooked it for *barely* longer than the urged time.
So, no matter you look ahead to on Christmas day – a Yuletide fish, succulent meat, or transcendently crispy potatoes, it may be achieved in an environmentally aware means. In any case, what could possibly be extra scrumptious than the nice and cozy, festive feeling of serving to out the planet.
—
Be part of a million Future followers by liking us on Facebook, or comply with us on Twitter or Instagram.
When you preferred this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, referred to as “The Important Checklist” – a handpicked choice of tales from BBC Future, Culture, Worklife, Travel and Reel delivered to your inbox each Friday.
