Tagged: welsh recipes
Actually I'm not sure how "traditional" or "Welsh" this recipe is but here it is anyway:-
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The above recipe for fried frogs and boiled eels is yet another culinary masterpiece from "Good Cookery Illustrated And Recipes Communicated by the Welsh Hermit of the Cell of St. Gover" which can be found along with many other fine things on Google Books.
( Many thanks to Wild Canary for bringing this to my attention )
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AmeriCymru: Hi Matt, care to tell us a little about your Welsh background and when you decided to become a chef?
Matt: My father Phil guy is from llanberis the foot of snowdon and works in the electric mountain my mother is from Deiniolen and a office administrator... they both moved in together in Deiniolen where they had me and two other sons, Justin also a chef and Simon who is a camera man for BBC Wales. I always wanted to be a chef from a very young age and I managed to get an apprenticeship at a hotel down the road from my village I was 15 and I was filmed for a Welsh television programme called pentre ni it was a programme about my village from where I came from and followed a few characters from the village. They followed me leaving school into the world of hospitality I loved it. I was junior chef of Wales in 2004 and was tipped by a north Wales news paper to be the next big thing in the industry.
I then left the hotel and went on my travels around the uk and France learning different skills from different chefs. As a fluent Welsh speaker from a small little village in Wales it was quiet daunting going out to the bigger areas but loved every moment of it and made sure that everyone heard how much I loved being Welsh.
AmeriCymru: In 2015 you became Head Chef at the Miners Arms? What can you tell us about the circumstances surrounding your appointment?
Matt: I became the head chef through a lengthy process, I was one of thousands to appear on the show called chefs on trial. During the week I was one of nine contestants trying to win the job. We were put through challenging challenges from skill test to working a full service and even an interview from the well respected Alex polizzi the hotel inspector. The programme was watched by millions aired on the BBC.
The experience of the competition was incredible and using some brilliant local produce from the area was amazing. Unfortunately things did not go to plan and was a whirl wind of a year. I am thankful for the experience and I learnt some valuable life lessons
AmeriCymru: Where and when can people catch you on television (s4c)?
Matt: I'm normally on prynhawn da in the afternoons at 2pm on s4c, on here I am part of a team who creates day time entertainment including cooking some great dishes that family's can do together and also easy and reasonable price for them.
AmeriCymru: Do you have any recipes on YouTube you would like to mention?
Matt: I have a few recipes on YouTube through the Welsh tv show with more yet to come, most of them are on Facebook and my business Facebook page here are some links
https://m.facebook.com/
https://www.facebook.com/
Even though I cook lovely wholesome dishes on my television clips I am known for my fine dining skills
AmeriCymru: Does your culinary repertoire include traditional Welsh cuisine/dishes?
Matt: I do have a range of Welsh dishes that I use but I have to say my favourite Welsh ingredient is laverbread I used this in a few competitions as well.
Hay smoked loin of lamb served with laverbread risotto , baby carrots and a red wine.
Laverbread risotto
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 5 rashers streaky bacon (rindless), diced
- 1 leek (white only), finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 500g risotto rice
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 100g fresh or canned laverbread
- 3100g butter
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place a large saucepan with the olive oil over a moderate heat, add the bacon and cook for 1 minute until just cooked, remove from the pan and set aside. Add the leek and garlic to the pan, sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the rice to the pan and mix it so that it is coated by the oil, cook for 1 minute.stir in a couple of ladles of boiling stock, stir with a wooden spoon until the stock is absorbed. Keep on adding ladles of stock until all the stock is absorbed into the rice. The rice should be moist and tender, with a little bite (not mush). Stir in the laverbread and allow to cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked bacon. Cook the risotto for a few minutes.Gradually mix in the parmesan then butter until melted and well combined. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. Season to taste. Serve at once.
AmeriCymru: Do you think that traditional Welsh cuisine is sufficiently recognized or promoted worldwide?
Matt: I would love for our cuisine to be highlighted a little more as we have great produce and producers who care about what they do.
On my travels I have found that there is a lot of people who think we are a lot like England but when I introduce them to flavours and ingredients of Wales they are blown away.
We might be small but we are a great country and we are getting more known with thanks to our sporting heroes helping us along the way
AmeriCymru: You have an event coming up in June. Care to tell us a little more about that?
Matt: I have a few events on this year but the one I am more excited about will be the kegworth food festival which I am helping to organise. This is going to be a great day held on the third of June, we will have food producers from the area including some great local talent competing and demonstrating, majority of the funds raised will be going to the local air ambulance charity.
http://www.nwleics.gov.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru ?
Matt: My message to anyone I speak to is live your life don't hold back and aim for your dreams you might get knocked down a few times but get back on and one day you will get there, and where ever I will be in the world I will always have Wales and the Welsh language in my heart.
I have been knocked down over and over again but still got myself back up there I have had some great experiences from schools, colleges, people's houses, the Eisteddfod and many more festivals. I will never stop enjoying what I do.
I really enjoyed doing this interview I hope you enjoy reading it
Matt guy
A year’s worth of delicious recipes…
The cook Lisa Fearn will be launching her first recipe book Blas / Taste at Aberglasney Gardens on Wednesday, 23 November.
Blas / Taste contains over 90 delicious family-friendly recipes and is presented bilingually. The book also includes suggestions for activities to keep the children busy, creating home-made gifts, quick ideas and making the most of ingredients from the garden.
Lisa Fearn is a Carmarthen girl and a mother of five. She established a gardening and cookery school called The Pumpkin Patch in Allt y Gog Farm in Felin-wen, Carmarthenshire. By now, she has taught thousands of children to grow and cook their own food (she's taught a few parents too).
Lisa is a columnist with the Carmarthen Journal and a regular on Radio Wales and Radio Cymru. She is also a cook on the Prynhawn Da programme on S4C. Above all, Lisa has a great interest in the social power of food.
Lisa says “I love the outdoors, gardening and cooking. So, when our youngest reached school age, I took stock of what I knew and The Pumpkin Patch became a reality – a children’s cookery and gardening school teaching them how to grow and cook their own food. Within months the school was fully booked, and I started sharing our family-friendly recipes with people.
“Blas • Taste is full of our favourite ‘go to’ recipes at Allt y Gog Farm. They are the recipes that I hope my children will use when they leave home – Mum’s favourites. No fuss; easy meals and snacks that flavour the seasons and the year’s celebrations with the family. So invite everybody round to taste!”
Blas/Taste is a perfect gift this Christmas and is now available from your local bookshop or directly from Gomer Press on ww.gomer.co.uk / 01559 363092.
Lisa Fearn will launch the book at Aberglasney Gardens on Wednesday, 23 November at 7pm.
Lisa will also be signing copies of the book at:
Peppercorn, Llandeilo on Friday, 18 November, 1.30pm
The Royal Welsh Winter Fair, Llanelwedd, 28 November, 11am on the Siop Inc stand and midday on the Merlin’s Hill stand
Aberglasney Winter Fair, 2 December 2pm & 4 December, 2pm
The National Library of Wales, 8 December at 5pm.
Bibliographic details
Blas / Taste, Lisa Fearn, Photographs by Aled Llywelyn
ISBN 9781785621741, hardback, 248 pages
£14.99, Published by Gomer Press
...
Blwyddyn gron o ryseitiau blasus…
Bydd y cogydd Lisa Fearn yn lansio ei chyfrol goginio gyntaf, Blas / Taste yng ngerddi Aberglasney nos Fercher, 23 Tachwedd.
Mae Blas / Taste yn cynnwys dros 90 o ryseitiau dwyieithog sy’n tynnu dŵr i’r dannedd. Yn ogystal mae’n cynnwys awgrymiadau
am weithgareddau i gadw’r plant yn brysur, creu anrhegion cartref, syniadau sydyn yn y gegin a gwneud y mwyaf o’r cynnyrch sy’n ffres o’r ardd.
Merch o Gaerfyrddin yw Lisa Fearn ac mae’n fam i bump o blant. Sefydlodd ysgol arddio a choginio boblogaidd i blant, sef The
Pumpkin Patch ar Fferm Allt y Gog yn Felin-wen, Sir Gaerfyrddin.
Erbyn hyn, mae hi wedi dysgu miloedd o blant i dyfu a choginio eu bwyd eu hunain (ac wedi dysgu ambell riant hefyd!).
Mae Lisa’n golofnydd gyda’r Carmarthen Journal. Mae hi’n westai cyson ar Radio Cymru a Radio Wales, ac yn gogydd ar raglen Prynhawn Da, S4C, hefyd. Uwchlaw popeth, mae gan Lisa ddiddordeb mawr ym mhŵer cymdeithasol bwyd.
Meddai Lisa “Rwy’n dwlu ar y byd tu fas ac ar arddio a choginio. Felly, pan ddechreuodd y cyw melyn ola yn yr ysgol, cymerais stoc o’r hyn roeddwn i’n gyfarwydd ag e. Ac felly y daeth The Pumpkin Patch i fodolaeth – ysgol goginio a garddio i blant, yn eu dysgu sut i dyfu a choginio’u bwyd eu hunain. O fewn misoedd, roedd yr ysgol yn llawn, a dechreuais rannu ein ryseitiau teulu-gyfeillgar â phobl eraill.”
“Mae Blas / Taste yn llawn o’n hoff ryseitiau ni yn Fferm Allt y Gog. Dyma’r ryseitiau rwy’n gobeithio y bydd fy mhlant yn eu defnyddio pan fyddan nhw’n gadael y nyth – ffefrynnau Mam.”
“Dim ffws - prydau a byrbrydau hawdd sy’n rhoi blas ar bob dim yn ei dymor ac yn ddathliad o flwyddyn gron gyda’r teulu a ffrindiau. Rhowch wahoddiad i bawb ddod draw i gael blas ar bethau!”
Mae Blas / Taste yn anrheg Nadolig delfrydol ac ar gael yn eich siop lyfrau leol am £14.99 neu’n
uniongyrchol oddi wrth wasg Gomer ar www.gomer.co.uk / 01559 363092.
Bydd Lisa Fearn yn lansio’r gyfrol yng ngerddi Aberglasney nos Fercher, 23 Tachwedd am 7 o’r gloch.
Bydd hi hefyd yn llofnodi copïau o’r llyfr yn:
Siop Peppercorn, Llandeilo, 18 Tachwedd am 1.30 o’r gloch
Y Ffair Aeaf, Llanelwedd, 28 Tachwedd, 11 o'r gloch ar stondin Siop Inc a 12 ar stondin Bryn Myrddin
Ffair Aeaf Aberglasney, 2 Rhagfyr, 2 o’r gloch a 4 Rhagfyr, 2 o’r gloch
Y Llyfrgell Genedlaethol, 8 Rhagfyr am 5 o’r gloch.
Manylion llyfryddol
Blas / Taste, Lisa Fearn, Ffotograffau Aled Llywelyn
ISBN 9781785621741, clawr caled, 248 tudalen,
£14.99, Gwasg Gomer
Emergency! Need recipe for Welsh Plum Cakes ASAP!
Moved from the old Welsh Cooking and Baking Group Posted by Jennifer (aka Garan Gwyn) on March 13, 2010 at 3:30pm in Welsh Recipes Does anyone...
@ started 10 years ago - replies: 0
Reproduced with kind permission of Cymru Culture Magazine
Recipes can be as difficult as you choose to make them. I am a strong advocate of food that sounds, looks and tastes wonderful, but is very easy to make, and inexpensive. One of my favourite dishes (commonly serverd as a starter or as a chic party food) is my smoked mackerel and horseradish p âté . Here's how to do it ...
First, buy some smoked mackerel from your local supermarket (don't buy the pepper-coated variety as this will clash with the horseradish used in the recipe). You could also use smoked trout or haddock instead, if you wish.
Flake the smoked mackerel into a bowl and break it into small pieces. Do not use a liquidiser as it would make the mixture too smooth (the coarse texture of this p âté is one of its strengths).
Add 1-2 table spoons of creamed horseradish (to taste) and mix well. This mixture can then be stored in the fridge until needed.
Take some small capers out of the brine in which they are stored and set to one side. These will be used as a garnish for the final dish.
You could make the brown seeded rolls yourself, but I use the part-baked versions available from my local supermarket. They only take 6 minutes in the oven and come out smelling wonderful. Cut the bread rolls in half, spread with margarine (or butter, whichever you prefer), pile on a generous amount of the mackeral p âté and then sprinkle with capers.
It's a simple as that! Enjoy.
© 2011 Caregos Cyf. | Hawlfraint All rights reserved
A slight twist on this classic of British (and Welsh) cuisine.
Serves 4 ( approx )
- 3lb bag of potatoes ( preferably reds )
- 1 large onion
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tin of sweetened peas or petit pois ( this is the mystery ingredient be sure the water has been sweetened )
- About 8 bangers ( your preference )
- 1 packet of gravy browning
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- Wash and dice potatoes, add to salted water and boil for 20 mins. Remove water, mash and add butter to taste.
- Peel and dice onion, add garlic ( 2-3 cloves ) if required, fry on medium heat till reduced and browned. Scoop onions to one side and fry bangers in the same pan for extra flavor. Remove bangers when cooked and set aside. Add gravy browning and stir. Add water from Sweetened Peas or Petit Pois can and stir. The sweetened 'pea water' will enhance the flavour of the gravy. ( In my opinion this is the all important step and 'mystery ingredient' )
- Warm up the peas.
- Serve bangers, mash and peas piping hot with lashings of gravy over the top ( see pic below ). Lip smackin good .
- 1.35kg/3lbs of sirloin of beef
- 1.1 litres/2 pints of beef stock
- 175ml/6 fl oz of heavy/double cream
- 75g/3 oz of butter
- 3 shallots - finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 good measures of Welsh whisky
- 1-2 teaspoons of wholegrain mustard, sea salt and black pepper
- Season the meat. Heat the oil in a roasting tin, and seal the meat until browned.
- Cook in a hot oven (200C/Gas Mark 6) for 15 minutes to each pound and an additional 15 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the shallots until softened.
- Add the whisky to the pan before adding the stock. Bring to the boil and reduce.
- Add the cream and mustard and cook until the sauce thickens.
- Allow the meat to rest before carving.
The whole process should take about an hour. Remember to prepare the meat first and pay particular attention to the sauce. Constant stirring is advisable after reducing the stock and adding the cream. If the sauce doesn't thicken sufficiently try adding a dash of yoghurt to give it the right consistency. We elected to serve the dish with an accompaniment of new potatoes, chopped leek, diced carrots and green beans (see pic above). You will find the original recipe in Dudley Newbery's excellent book (see below) along with many other mouth watering treats and delicacies.
"Dudley's TV food programmes on S4C are amongst the most popular on the channel. Dudley himself the most popular and charismatic cook we have in Wales. His popularity is based on sound, attractive recipes that really work, using fresh, seasonal ingredients that are locally available.
This book presents the best recipes of his recent television series when he travelled all over Wales and explored Europe and the Far East. There is something here for all palates and occasions, whether Thai soup and noodles, chicken salad, a succulent steak in whisky sauce, or a wicked chocolate tart.
The recipes are divided into sections for soup, fish, sauces, meat, rice and pasta, vegetarian food and of course desserts. The ingredients and method of cooking are presented simply and clearly along with mouth-watering photographs.
Cook up a treat with this beautiful book!"
Lamb Argenteuil
We noticed that it has been a year or two since we last offered a St David's Day recipe suggestion on the site. One day we will get around to a vegetarian menu in honour of the man himself. This year however, mindful of the fact that Wales will be playing France in Paris the day before March 1st (2015), we are posting a French recipe which utilises traditional Welsh ingredients. The finished product is pictured above and you will find a full list of ingredients and instructions below.
If you can't get Pembroke red potatoes or Welsh lamb and leeks where you are, just pretend. We are sure the end result will be equally mouthwatering. BUT be warned, despite the deliciously delicate flavour of the asparagus puree sauce this is a very filling meal so a light white wine might provide the ideal accompaniment. The ingredients shouldn't cost more than $30-45 ( £20-30 ) depending on where you buy the meat. Dydd gwyl dewi hapus and bon appetit!
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 1 boned shoulder of lamb (1.5 pound/ 0.66 kilos approx)
- 2 small onions (chopped and peeled)
- 1.5 pound/0.66 kilos of fresh asparagus
- 1 oz/50g unsalted butter
- 100ml double or whipping cream
- one heaped tablespoon of seasoned flour (add salt, pepper, dried mixed herbs to taste)
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
- Rinse the asparagus and boil until tender. Drain and keep the asparagus water. Cut off the asparagus tips and put them aside. Puree the asparagus stems in your food processor.
- Remove the excess fat from your lamb joint and dice the meat into 2 inch pieces (approx). Put the seasoned flour on a plate and roll the lamb pieces till they are covered in flour. Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the meat and onions until they start to brown.
- Add 11⁄4 cups (300mls approx) of the asparagus water and stir to make a smooth sauce. The meat must be simmered in this liquid for an hour. You can remove any layers of fat that form on the surface. Add more liquid if necessary and ensure that the meat is tender before proceeding.
- Stir in the cream and asparagus puree. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste (go sparingly on the lemon juice). Stir thoroughly. The sauce should have a delicious aroma and a fairly thick consistency.
- Serve the cooked lamb and sauce with the asparagus tips you removed earlier, arranged around the edge of the plate. Potatoes, mashed or boiled are an ideal accompaniment. For vegetables we are using leeks on this occasion because it is St David's Day. If you prefer something lighter, peas or broad beans will do very nicely.
I'm working on inventing some recipes that I hope will be edible blends of Welsh and other cuisines, so this year for St. David's Day I wanted to do a seafood cawl.
Outside the Pacific NW, salmon is considered our "national" cuisine and if you tell people on the east coast that you're a Portlander but you don't like it, they seem disappointed. I never did like it until I moved to the east coast for a while and couldn't get it and that lead me to appreciate what a really fantastic thing good, fresh, wild salmon is, so I wanted to create a "cawl" with salmon. Ceri demanded mussels (ala Mussels Meirionnydd), so that's what he got and it's not Pacific Rim without sourdough bread, in my opinion.
After I made this, I was fortunate enough to find Welsh Shellfish Cawl on the Visit Wales site, and that looks really fantastic so I want to try making that next. If you try this recipe, let me know what you think!
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh salmon filet, wild coho or king if you can get it
- 1 lb mussels
- 1 C cooked crabmeat
- 2 quarts water or vegetable stock
- 2 C cabernet
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 1 large sliced carrot
- 1 small rutabaga, sliced
- 6 medium potatoes, quartered
- 2 leeks, sliced
- 1 small head of cabbage, chopped
- 1 C oyster mushrooms
- 4 chopped cloves garlic
- 2 T chopped fresh parsley
- 1 t crushed rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
Sourdough bread with parsley garlic butter
- stick of butter or 8T butter, softened
- 3 T fresh chopped parsley
- three cloves garlic, cooked soft and crushed
- 1 t parmesan cheese
- baguette or boule of sourdough bread
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Bring water or vegetable stock to a boil. Add onions, carrot, rutabaga and salt and pepper and reduce heat to simmer one hour.
In separate saucepan, saute chopped garlic and three whole cloves for bread with mushrooms until garlic has begun to brown. Reserve whole cloves for bread, add chopped garlic and mushrooms to pot. Add wine and potatoes and simmer another 15-20 minutes until tender. Add herbs, leeks, cabbage, crab meat and salmon until cabbage is tender. Add mussels and cover for about 15 minutes or until shells have fully opened.
While mussels are steaming, cream softened butter for bread with chopped parsley, parmesan and whole cloves garlic. Score bread through to bottom crust in 2' slices, taking care to leave bottom crust attached. Wrap bread in tinfoil, leaving top open, and place on cookie sheet. Spread butter liberally in between slices and bake in 350F oven about 15 minutes or until mussels are done.
Serve hot.
image above by Jon Sullivan, public domain courtesy of http://pdphoto.org/
One of my favorites as a kid. My mother would make this dish early on a Saturday night during the cold winter months It would take her a couple of hours in the coal fired oven we had, but thanks to modern technology, it now is a quick dish.
I have it for my breakfast.
This was passed this on to my step son who is a chef, and apparently it has become a popular snack in the Bridgend/Port Talbot area and refered to as a Dilwyn.
The ingredients
- Cheddar cheese
- One egg
- Dried onion flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cut cheese into small pieces and line a greased oven proof dish.
- Crack the egg into the dish, then make sure that the yoke is broken and spread around.
- Add the dried onions to the egg.
- Cover with more cheese. (Sometimes I use grated cheese, but prefer chunks)
- Grate the salt and pepper over the mix.
- Place in an 850 watt oven for 1 minute 45 seconds (again this varies according to taste).
"Serve on buttered toast. But I prefer it sandwiched between two layers of toast." - Dilwyn
"Out to the back to mix the potch then. All the vegetables were boiled slowly in their jackets, never allowed to bubble in boiling, for then the goodness is from them, and they are full of water, and a squash tasteless to the mouth, without good smell, an offence to the eye, and an insult to the belly. Firm in the hand, skin them clean, and put them in a dish and mash with a heavy fork, with melted butter and the bruising of mint, potatoes, swedes, carrots, parsnips, turnips and their tops, then chop purple onions very fine , with a little head of parsley, and pick the leaves of small watercress from the stems, and mix together. The potch will be a creamy colour with something of pink, having a smell to tempt you to eat there and then, but wait until it has been in the hot oven for five minutes with a cover, so that the vegetables can mix in warm comfort together and become friendly, and the mint can go about his work, and for the cress to show his cunning, and for the goodness all about to soften the raw, ungentle nature of the onion."
How Green Was My Valley - Richard Llewellyn
The above passage is quoted in Bobby Freemans Welsh culinary masterpiece, Traditional Food From Wales along with the following observation:-
" Such a detailed description of this old Pembrokeshire dish is fortunate, for I can find no other written record of it anywhere, only confirmation of its existence. "
It seems likely that 'potsh' and the north Welsh variant 'stwnch' were common recipes in rural and working class households throughout Wales before the advent of the 20th century and modern pre-packed foods.
As you will see there are no quantities or cooking times in the above recipe from Richard Llewellyn's book so preparing this recipe was an adventure somewhat akin to culinary archaeology. The directions below worked well for us although you may wish to experiment with your own versions of this supremely adaptable dish. Be warned, however, that you MUST leave the vegetables to par boil for at least 2½ to 3 hours, otherwise you will be forced to resort to a food blender or engage in some extremely vigorous mashing. In the latter case you may find yourself expending more calories creating the dish than it can replace.
The finished product is, however, quite delicious and excellent when accompanied with leek and bacon (as pictured above).
The Ingredients (Serves 6)
- 1large swede (rutabaga)
- 4 medium size carrots
- 2 turnips
- 2 large potatoes
- 1 parsnip
- watercress (to taste)
- parsley (to taste)
- fresh mint (to taste)
- 4 oz butter (salted or unsalted)
- 1 purple onion
- Par boil the parsnip, rutabaga, potatoes, turnips and carrots for at least 2½ to 3 hours. Do not peel or chop before hand and do not "allow the water to bubble during boiling" (medium heat should be about right but you may need to experiment)
- Remove the vegetables from the water, peel and mash. Add butter and mint.
- Then - "chop purple onions very fine , with a little head of parsley, and pick the leaves of small watercress from the stems, and mix together."
- Put the resulting mixture in an oven at 350°C for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Serve hot with leeks and bacon.
Watercress, chopped shallots and parsley
For anyone who is not familiar with the term 'stwnsh', it is basically the Welsh word for mash. Traditionally this dish was prepared using potatoes, turnips, carrots or whatever root vegetables happened to be available. They could be boiled together or in separate pans but the ultimate goal was to mix and mash them. Stumptown stwnsh is a Portland, Oregon variant.
The ingredients
- 1 large rutabaga (swede)
- 2 large potatoes
- 1 large yam
- a fistful of kale
- half pack (2-3oz) of butter
- seasoning (your preference)
- peel and boil the rutabaga for 40 mins
- after 10 minutes add the peeled potatoes and yam
- add the kale about 5 minutes before removing your pan from the heat
- drain the water
- add butter and season to taste
- mash vigorously
The whole process takes about 40 minutes and when you're done you should have enough for about six servings.
I add turmeric, ginger, onion and garlic powder to my stwnsh but you can experiment with whatever you have in your spice rack. If you add sausage and onion gravy, stwnsh is an excellent way to spice up your bangers'n'mash . It also keeps well in the fridge and makes an excellent fried breakfast served with a poached or fried egg and bacon
If you make enough of the stuff (just increase the proportions above or add extra root veggies to the mix) it will last for days and provide an excellent accompaniment to any meat dish imaginable. It also tastes great with curry sauce and vegetable curry mixes.
AND of course it's cheap! Rutabaga's are not, never have been and hopefully never will be, popular or trendy. They are a root vegetable best left to those who appreciate their flavour, nutritional value and versatility.
Mwynhewch eich bwyd!
Here is the final product presented in an ornamental dish (decorated especially for the occasion).
Stumptown Stwnsh with pork'n'peas
Most visitors to this site will have been tempted to experiment with traditional Welsh cuisine. Some may have been frustrated by the difficulty of establishing precisely what constitutes a traditional recipe or by the perceived difficulty of recreating old Welsh cooking methods.
The recipe below solves both these problems. It is easy to prepare (you will not need a three legged cauldron) and it is entirely traditional. It is also cheap (about $25 for ten servings or more) and highly nutritious and delicious.
This recipe is inspired by, and very similar to, one recorded by Mati Thomas for her 1928 National Eisteddfod Entry - A Collection of Welsh Recipes . For more about Cawl and traditional Welsh cuisine please see the article after the recipe below.
Traditional Welsh cawl made with blade steak shoulder of pork.
The Ingredients (Serves 6)
- 2 lbs (approx) of pork (blade steak pork shoulder is ideal and economical)
- 1medium swede (rutabaga)
- 3 medium size carrots
- 2 medium size parsnips
- 1 large potato
- 2 leeks
- 1 small cabbage
- summer savory (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons of oatmeal
Method (Preparation time: 2 hours)
- Put about a gallon of water into a large pan and bring to the boil.
- Add the meet and boil for 1 ½ hours. Salt to taste.
- Take out the meet and place on a dish.
- Dice the rutabaga and place in the pan. Boil for 30 mins.
- Add cold water to the oatmeal and mix to a paste. Add the summer savory to the paste.
- After 10 minutes add the diced potato, carrot and parsnips together with the oatmeal paste.
- After a further 10 minutes add the sliced leaks and chopped cabbage.
- To recap - the meat boils in the pan for 1 ½ hours . After which you add the veggies and seasoning to the same pan at 10 minute intervals as prescribed above.
- Remove the cawl from the heat. Serve in a bowl for each person. The meat should be served separately on a dish allowing people to help themselves.
The term cawl means 'broth' in Welsh and it is often regarded as the national dish of Wales. It is important to remember that there were almost as many varieties of cawl as there were households in which it was cooked . This perhaps is not surprising when one considers that the dish has been in existence for many hundreds of years and that Welsh traditional recipes have seldom been recorded in written sources. It should also be borne in mind that cawl is essentially a stew of root vegetables and meat, and that what went into it was invariably whatever was to hand.
Nevertheless it is perhaps possible to distinguish between older and more traditional cawl recipes and the modern and more sumptuous varieties available in Welsh restaurants today.
The Wikipedia has the following to say about cawl :-
Cawl was traditionally eaten during the winter months in the south-west of Wales. Today the word is often used to refer to a dish containing lamb and leeks, due to their association with Welsh culture, but historically it was made with either salted bacon or beef, along with swedes, carrots and other seasonal vegetables. With the introduction of potatoes into the European diet in the latter half of the 16th century, this too would become a core ingredient in the recipe.
The meat in the dish was normally cut into medium-sized pieces and simmered with the vegetables in water. The stock was thickened with either oatmeal or flour, and was then served, without the meat or vegetables, as a first course. The vegetables and slices of the meat would then be served as a second course. Cawl served as a single course is today the most popular way to serve the meal.
So perhaps, if you are looking for a pre 16th century variant you should drop the potato and substitute a turnip?
The recipe presented on this page is adapted from a 19th century (and probably earlier) cawl variant recorded by Mati Thomas in her 1928 National Eisteddfod Entry - A Collection of Welsh Recipes . Our source for this is the excellent Traditional Food From Wales by Bobby Freeman. Her book is without a doubt the most important work on traditional Welsh cuisine available today.
In conclusion I would like to say that this recipe has a delightful simplicity about it. Only one pan is used throughout and nothing is thrown away. The full flavour of the meat and vegetables combine to form a delicious broth which also retains much of the nutritional value. The use of only a single herb underlines the fact that the dish preserves much of the natural flavour of its ingredients thus rendering additional seasoning redundant.
Of course the use of a single pan (or three legged cauldron) was perhaps necessitated by the cooking conditions of the times. Probably there were no other pots available. Likewise there may well have been a paucity of herbs and seasonings from which to choose. However that may be, the result is a culinary masterpiece and a triumph of 'primitive' cuisine.
As Milton's Comus once said "One sip of this will bathe the drooping spirits in delight beyond the bliss of dreams. Be wise and taste!"
The Ingredients (Serves 5)
- lb (approx) salt bacon
- 1/2 lb (approx) broad or fava beans
- 4-5 potatoes
- 1 rutabaga (swede)
- 1 leek
- Parsley (for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon of oatmeal
- Thyme (to taste)
- Salt
- Cold Water
Method (Preparation time: 45 mins approx)
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the sliced salt bacon.
- Make a paste with the oatmeal and a little cold water. Add thyme to taste. Add to the pan.
- Chop / dice and add the rutabaga and potatoes and boil for 20 minutes.
- Serve with a garnish of fresh parsley and raw leek to taste.
You will find recipes for Cawl Ffa in many places online but our inspiration for this dish came from First Catch Your Peacock by Bobby Freeman. This classic work, which has been reprinted in the US as Traditional Food From Wales , is often regarded as the 'Bible of Welsh traditional cuisine'. The recipe, as reproduced in the book, does not contain very detailed cooking instructions. As with many other traditional recipes it is sometimes necessary to experiment once or twice to get things exactly right or rather, perhaps, to best suit one's own taste. In the present case it is important to remember that, although the above list of ingredients calls for the addition of salt you might want to skip it. Salted bacon is already very salty and adding more risks overwhelming the flavour of the dish altogether. Also, salt bacon is very fatty so you might want to trim as much as possible before you begin cooking. Having said that this is a delicious, hearty and economical meal and thoroughly recommended.
Bara Lawr Bagees
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Many thanks to AmeriCymru member Dilwyn Phillips for sending us this excellent recipe which was suggested to him by his son-in-law Justin Rees. Justin is a top Welsh chef and owner of the Fountain Hog and Grill in Aberkenfig ouside Bridgend in south Wales. He is also the author of Welsh Cheese Recipes which features many recipes and adventurous ideas on serving up Welsh cheese.
Visit the Fountain Hog & Grill FB page here:- Fountain Hog & Grill
Buy Welsh Cheese Recipes here:- Welsh Cheese Recipes
If you live ouside Wales it is possible to order lavabread / laverbread online from Parsons Pickles in Llanelli. Here is the link:- Laverbread from Parsons Pickles .
mmmmm
The Ingredients (Serves 3)
- 3 tins of Bara Lawr (available on line with Parsons pickles)
- 2 medium chopped onions
- 2 cloves of diced garlic, or of you prefer, mince
- 1 tin cockles
- Mixed chopped peppers
- 7 table spoons of Porridge oats depending on thickness required.
- Sprinkling of crushed chillie
- Sprinkling of curry powder
- Pepper and salt to taste
Method (Preparation time: 45 mins approx)
- Fry the onions and garlic until cooked.
- Add chopped peppers then the cockles and Bara Lawr.
- Cook for about 5 minutes and add chillie, curry and salt and pepper.
- After about a minute of mixing well, add porridge oats, stirring until nice and thick.
- Leave mixture to cool.
- Form into bite size balls ( or bigger to own preference), I've got a big bite!, and place on greased or non stick baking tray.
- Bake at 180C until slightly crusty on the outside. This takes me about 20-25 minutes.
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N.B. Bara Lawr Bagees can be made in a slab, then sliced into squares and frozen. To serve from frozen warm up in a microwave. Lardons may be substituted for cockles in this recipe.
Bara Lawr Bagees ready to serve
Welsh Recipes, Cooking & Baking
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Looking for a three course recipe to celebrate St David's Day (March 1st), the national day of Wales? Then look no further.
March 1st is Saint David's Day, the National Holiday of Wales, a day to celebrate for the Welsh and Americans of Welsh descent. In Wales, people celebrate Saint David's Day by attending church services, wearing leeks and daffodils (national symbols of Wales and St. David), holding parades and children's parties in the schools. Saint David, Dewi Sant in Welsh, lived in the 6th Century and is unique among British saints in that a surprising amount of information was recorded about his life. He was probably the son of Usai, the king of Ceredigion, and the daughter of a lord of what would later be called Pembrokeshire and was the student of another Welsh saint, Paulinus. Dewi Sant was renowned as a teacher who founded monastic settlements and churches in mostly pagan Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. Today, Saint David's Cathedral stands on the site of a monastery he founded in Glyn Rhosyn (Valley of Roses) in Pembrokeshire.
The monastic rule of Dewi Sant taught humility, simplicity and asceticism and he practiced these himself: that monks ploughed, planted and tended their crops themselves, without draft animals; that they drank only water and ate only bread with salt and herbs and never meat or beer; that they spent their evenings in prayer, reading and writing; that no member of the monastery had any personal possessions, everything belonged to them all. Dewi Sant's last sermon was recorded as including the words, "Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about.... Do the little things in life," and this phrase, "Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd," ("Do the little things in life") is a phrase used today.
Recipe And Ingredients
2 new, unused, unglazed or painted, bare 6-inch terracotta flower pots
Parchment paper
1 1/2 cups Spelt flour
1/2 cup milk warmed to room temperature
1/2 cup water warmed to room temperature
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 oz or two packets fresh or dried active yeast
1 egg
4 tbsp melted butter
2 Tbs finely chopped scallions
1 Tbs chopped fresh chives, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
1 tsp crushed fresh rosemary leaves
1 clove crushed garlic
Seasoning flower pots
This step can be done in advance of preparing the bread, at any time.
Pre-heat oven to 175F
Thoroughly wash pots inside and out and dry well. Coat pots all over (including the rim and the bottom) with olive oil inside and out, using a basting brush or paper towel. Place pots in oven on a cookie sheet and bake at 175F for about 20-30 minutes, or until dry. Remove pots from oven and allow to cool. Repeat this process three times.
Preparing Pot Bread
Preheat oven to 400F.
Slightly warm two tablespoons of the milk and dissolve the honey in it. Allow to cool to lukewarm and add the yeast and mix into a thin paste. Cover and set aside in a warm place for 15 minutes or until yeast is well grown and foamy.
Sift together flours and salt in large bowl, make a well in the center and pour the yeast mixture into the well. Add water, butter, onions, herbs and garlic, mix together well and knead on floured surface about 5 minutes, adding additional spelt flour in small amounts until it becomes a smooth, elastic dough. Pat dough into a ball shape. Place dough ball in a lightly warmed, greased bowl and cover in a warm place for approximately one hour, until dough has risen to double in size.
Turn dough out onto floured surface and punch down only to knock out all the air, kneading lightly. Separate dough into two equal-sized balls. Place a circle of parchment paper to cover the bottom of each pot and place a dough ball on it. Cover each ball of dough and put in a warm place for approximately a half hour to an hour, until dough balls have risen to double in size or until they stop rising. Gently brush tops of each loaf with well-beaten egg. Place pots on cookie sheet in oven preheated at 400F for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and turn out to cool.
Recipe And Ingredients
4 large lamb loin chops
extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbs chopped fresh sage
2 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
1 Tbs dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 large Walla-Walla onions, sliced thick
3 large cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
2/3 cup Balsamic vinegar
Preparation
Pour 2 Tbs olive oil into hot pan over medium heat. Season lamb chops on both sides with salt and pepper and add to pan. Pour onions over chops and cook until lamb is browned on both sides, about 5-7 minutes each side, stirring onions until they are clear. When lamb is cooked, remove chops and cover.
Sprinkle brown sugar over onions and saute, stirring frequently until onions are browned and coated with sugar. Add garlic and herbs and saute for about a minute. Add vinegar and wine and boil in pan until reduced to glaze, about three minutes. Spoon over chops and serve.
Recipe And Ingredients
This dessert is a sweet, early spring treat in the UK and the US and there are many versions of it to be found. Our version is simple and easily modified for larger or smaller groups. Today Caerphilly cheese is made in different parts of the UK but it originated, of course, in the area of the town of Caerphilly, in South Wales. Rhubarb was probably brought to the United Kingdom thousands of years ago and is today grown in Wales and popular in desserts, wines and other recipes.
Serves 4
Filling
2 Tbs. orange juice
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 cup diced fresh or frozen rhubarb
1 1/2 cup hulled and sliced strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp chopped crystallized ginger
1 Tsp. freshly grated orange zest
Topping
1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup crumbled Caerphilly cheese
2 tbls butter
OPTIONAL 2 Tbs. crushed almonds
Preheat Oven to 350F and grease a 9-inch pie pan. Mix fruit with orange juice, crystallized ginger, sugar, cornstarch, and orange zest and pour into pie plate.
Mix oats, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and almonds. With your hands, mix in butter and Caerphilly cheese, pressing it into the dry ingredients until crumbly. Slowly add orange juice as needed until you achieve slightly smooth crumbles that hang together. Spread topping over fruit mix.
Place pie dish in oven over cookie sheet or foil to catch any bubble over. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until top is well browned. Remove and let cool to room temperature. Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche.