Cumbrians, please can you help me to make my husband happy?

[NewAndImprovedNorks]

DH is Cumbrian and remembers his Granny making him something called lentil mold...that he tells me is more delicious than it sounds (not hard).
He assures me it is a regional speciality. I am from Essex, we ate food, you know chops and egg and things.

Apparently it is cooked lentils, mashed potato and something something something. You mix it all together, press it in a mold of some sort (details vague) and then fry the cold slices.
Doesn’t that sound DELIGHTFUL.

We have been married for 32 years and he speaks longingly of this every year or so, and I have now cracked and said I will eat a slice if he makes it, but he can’t find the recipe.

Does this ring any bells at all? Thank you

Disclaimer - not from Cumbria so may be way off the mark but is this the sort of thing he means?

www.google.com/amp/s/invegetableswetrust.com/2013/02/03/spicy-lentil-and-oat-burgers/amp/

Or this which could well be it?

www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/recipes/potato-and-lentil-patties-5448

I can't do a link for some reason. Google thinly spread lentil loaf. Obscure recipe but it's brilliant, but it uses breadcrumbs instead of mashed potatoes.

As a vegetarian it sounds great! Unfortunately I'm also a low carber, so I really couldn't eat it, but I'm hanging around to see if you get a recipe!! (And put it in my 'off the wagon' recipe pile!!

My family on both sides are Cumbrian, one lot from the south of the county and the other from the west, and we go back many generations. I've never heard of this delight, I'm afraid.

Not Cumbrian (not even British), but could it be something like this?

Except, instead of rolled in a ball, molded flat-ish? Also, any chance his parents/siblings remember it?

I'd substitute the same quantity of mashed potatoes for the quantity of rice in this recipe, it can't be that far off his granny's recipe I wouldn't have thought.

www.easycheesyvegetarian.com/very-veggie-lentil-bake/

I’m a Cumbrian and I have never heard of this ever.
I think he has dreamt it

Just tell him it must of been something his gran made up and make him at tattie pot instead !

He assures me it is a regional speciality.

And yet cannot find evidence of it on the internet? I am afraid it would be a Granny Specialty not a Cumbrian Specialty.

British regional food isn’t big on lentils - Cumbrian specialties would be like lamb-based, for example.

It sounds similar to pease pudding:

www.northernsoul.me.uk/pease-pudding/

Cumbrian and never heard of it.

Is it definitely lentils? Lentils don't really feature in traditional English food, could it be split peas, something similar to pease pudding? How much did child DH know about the actual production, or is he assuming ingredients because of the result/texture?

Same here and agree about the lamb and lentils by another poster. Pease pudding sounds your best bet.

It can’t be pease pudding - he said it was delicious and speaks of it longingly.

Lentils featured heavily in WWI recipes, it could have been a throwback to rationing. Maybe have a look at some wartime cookbooks?

Hi I wondered if it could be Lent not lentil so I did a little research.
First link explains the origin, second a recipe. The recipe could easily have had potato in to thicken it. Fingers crossed it's the one. It's served fried with eggs and bacon!
www.medieval-recipes.com/easter-ledge-pudding/
fabulousfusionfood.blogspot.com/2019/04/easter-ledge-pudding-recipe.html?m=1

You lot are bloody brilliant!

Yes, the lentils in Cumbria didn’t seem COMPLETELY authentic, so I will see if he thinks it might be pease instead.
Thank you so much, will report back

@How2Help

It can’t be pease pudding - he said it was delicious and speaks of it longingly.

Proper giggled at that.

@NoSquirrels

He assures me it is a regional speciality.

And yet cannot find evidence of it on the internet? I am afraid it would be a Granny Specialty not a Cumbrian Specialty.

British regional food isn’t big on lentils - Cumbrian specialties would be like lamb-based, for example.

You might be right about the ‘Granny Speciality’ He idolised his Granny because she let him help in the kitchen and made cakes and generally fed him up. She made another dish called ‘bilberry grunt’ that was basically layers of bilberries / blueberries and suet pastry cooked like a steamed pudding. I did make that once and it was delicious, but SO stodgy, especially with a dollop of thick custard.

He was overjoyed

This is the sort of query they love on the radio 4 programme "the kitchen cabinet" - worth a tweet or email to them!

That pudding sounds delicious, as does the fried lentil mash cakes. I’m sure I can make something up with that!

You need the stodgy puds up 'ere. It's cold and rains a lot. Gotta have owt to stick to your ribs.

With dh it’s rissoles, I’ve tried and failed. Fuck it.

I knew a man whose fave childhood amnesia recipe was braised stuffed heart. Vom.

If they wanted to eat it that badly they’d cook it themselves?.

Rissoles ! I forgot them, my mum used to mix sausage meat leftover mash and a bit of corned beef with onion and shape into rounds and fry, she called these rissoles, we loved them.
Anyone out there from Darlington who can remember the stall in the indoor market that remembers ‘ savouries’ delicious oniony corned beefy stuff really well cooked and slapped into a bread bun ... bloody lush. Me and my best mate went for one every saturday lunchtime after the pub 😁