Black Bean Pudding with Soda Bread

Method

1. Give the beans a good rinse before soaking in the fridge overnight in at least 700ml of water.
2. The next day, preheat the oven to 200°c fan. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
3. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients for the soda bread, then make a well in the centre and begin to pour in the buttermilk. Using your hand, begin to combine the buttermilk and flour, keep going until all the dry ingredients are incorporated, and you have a slightly shaggy dough. Make sure not to overwork the dough, as you don't want to start developing the gluten, you just want to work it enough to bring it together into a rough ball.
4. Then place the dough on the baking tray, score a light cross over the top and dust with some ground oats. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Give the bottom a light tap, it should sound hollow, then leave it on a wire rack to cool.
5. Whilst the bread is in the oven start cooking the beans. Drain them from their soaking liquid then add to a pot with the vegetable stock, bay leaves, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Cook to packet instructions until they are completely soft then remove from the heat and leave in their cooking liquid.
6. At the same time cook the pearl barley in a small saucepan to packet instructions.
7. Add all the whole spices to a small frying pan on a medium heat to toast for 3-5 minutes until fragrant then add to a spice grinder or pestle and mortar and grind into a powder, then stir through the remaining ground spices to create the spice mix.
8. When the beans have about 10 minutes left, start cooking your onions. Add half the butter and the olive oil to an ovenproof sauté pan until the butter has melted. Add the onions and cook for 7-10 minutes until lightly golden, stirring often, then add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Then add the spice mix and cook for another 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
9. Next remove the beans from their cooking liquid with a slotted spoon and add to the pan along with 400ml of their cooking liquid, reserving the rest for later if needed. Bring to the boil, then stir through the honey.
10. Add the remaining butter in little pieces on top of the beans then place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove halfway through to stir and check liquid levels – you don't want all the water to have evaporated, you still want the beans to be nice and saucy, add in some extra cooking liquid at this stage if your beans have become quite dry. Cover the pan and return to the oven.
11. Serve with chunks of soda bread and butter and garnish with fresh parsley.