Plum Duff

Jan in de zak

200 grams flour
package dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm milk
50 grams currants
50 grams candied peel
2 tbsp almond slivers
1 lemon
pinch of salt
red currant or other fruit sauce

Put the flour in a deep bowl. Prepare the yeast as per instructions and mix it with the flour. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and let the dough rise for fifteen minutes in a warm spot. Wash and grate the peel of the lemon. Mix the grated peel, the milk, the currants, almond slivers and candied peel in with the dough and thoroughly knead it into a ball. Spread out the dish towel, sprinkle it with flour, put the dough ball on it and again let it rise for half an hour in a warm spot. Fill a tall cooking pot with water. Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Put the lid of the pan on top of the dough ball and wrap the dish towel over it, making a knot of the four ends. Put the lid back on the pan and ensure that the dough inside the dish towel is fully immersed in the water.

Lower the heat to medium high and boil the dough for 70 minutes. Take from the water, unwrap the towel and put “Jan in de zak” on a plate to serve hot with the fruit sauce.

Jan in de zak (John in the bag) seems like an obvious name for this dish. The words ‘currant’ and krent in Dutch - in Old Dutch carent - are derived from the Greek raisin growing region that also was a major, early supplier of the dried raisins (which currants are): Corinth.