Carlin Sunday - Carlins

Do you remember Carlin Sunday?  Carlins seem to have dropped out of favour nowadays. But when I was a lad we used to have Carlin peas also called Maple peas, Black peas or Pigeon peas once a year on the Sunday before Palm Sunday. It was a yearly tradition in much of the north and on Carlin Sunday even the pubs and clubs would provide bowls of them free for their customers.

These small black peas have been available in England since Elizabethan times and most likely from long before. There was even a rhyme that mentioned them.

Tid, Mid, Miserai

Carlin, Palm, Paste egg day.

We shall have a holiday,

bonny frocks on Easter day.

Carlins according to an old tale even rescued the good citizens of Newcastle from starvation during the civil war. In those days Newcastle was a Royalist city in support of King Charles and a Scottish army crossed the border and swept south intent on capturing Newcastle and securing the coal supplies on behalf of their allies the parliamentarians. Newcastle however was no easy nut to crack and the city was put under siege. The siege of 1644 lasted from July until October, at one stage the supplies ran out and the people were starving. Just when thing were at their worst a Dutch ship saved them by evading the blockade and reaching the port with its cargo of carlings.

Recipe.

1lb Carlins

2 oz butter

A good pinch of salt

Vinegar

Method.

Place the Carlins in a bowl, cover with water, add pinch of salt and soak overnight.

Drain and place in a pan of boiling water for 20 minutes. (longer if you like them softer)

Heat up the butter in a frying pan, drain peas, add to the pan and fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve hot with salt, pepper and vinegar.