Happy St. David’s Day!!! What better way to celebrate (other than visiting Wales) than to enjoy some typical Welsh dishes?
We have your breakfast, tea, dinner and dessert covered!
Breakfast Sweet Treats
Anyone who knows me well (ok, so maybe you don’t even need to know me that well!) knows that I have a sweet tooth! And, on St. David’s Day, nothing hits the spot better than a freshly baked batch of Welsh Cakes.
This recipe by Kathryn Gunter who used to run The Market Bakery in Abergavenny market is my go to recipe for St. David’s day.
Ingredients
- 8 oz self raising flour
- 2 oz caster sugar
- 4 oz butter
- 2 handfuls of sultanas
- 1 or 2 free range eggs depending on the mixture
Method
- Sieve the flour into a bowl. Add the butter and rub together.
- Add sugar and sultanas and mix
- Add 1 egg and mix. You need to bind the mix together so if it seems too dry then add an extra egg
- Roll out onto a floured board until about a quarter inch thick
- Cut using a 2 inch round cutter
- Cook on a greased griddle pan on a medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side
The cakes should feel springy but not wet to the touch. Do not overcook them or they will be too dry.
Once ready, dust with some caster sugar and enjoy.
Afternoon Tea
Tucking into some delicious slices of this Bara Brith smoldered in butter after coming home from school or work is sheer heaven.
Dinner
We are giving you two Welsh dishes for dinner tonight. One is a rich stew and other a delicious seafood dish
Cawl
Pronounced “cow” with an l on the end, this rich, thick and warming stew is so easy to make and tastes even better the next day.
Traditionally this is made with Welsh lamb but when we made this as poor university students a cheap cut of beef was just as delicious!
Ingredients
- 1.5kg neck of lamb (on the bone), preferably Welsh, cut into serving pieces
- 2.5 litres fresh vegetable stock
- 225g each potatoes, onions, leeks, carrots, turnip and swede (all peeled and chopped)
- Sea salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
- Trim as much of the fat off the lamb as you can.
- Chop into large chunks
- Put the lamb into a large pan and pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
- Allow to cool and skim off all the fat from the top of the stock.
- Add the vegetables and cook for a further hour. Remove from the heat, cover and set aside to cool. Once cooled, refrigerate overnight.
- When you are ready to serve, simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until completely heated through.
- Serve with crusty bread and some strong Welsh cheese.
Laverbread and Cockles
What is laverbread you ask? Well, basically it is seaweed!! Don’t let that fool you, cooked with cockles or clams it is absolutely divine.
Ingredients
- 25g butter
- 4 rashers smoked bacon, diced
- 1 leek, thinly sliced
- 400g cockles or clams
- 300 ml white wine
- generous pinch of salt and pepper
- 150 ml single cream
- 2 tbsp laverbread or chopped nori
- hot crusty bread to serve
Method
- Clean the cockles/clams in a large bowl covered with plenty of cold water. Soak for a couple of hours, moving the cockles/clams every so often to make sure that any sand within the shells is eliminated.
- Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and cook over medium heat until bubbling.
- Add the bacon and cook for 2-3 minutes or until most of the fat has rendered, then add the leek and stir for 2 minutes or until soft.
- Add the cockles or clams and stir for a couple of minutes to make sure that they are coated in the delicious buttery bacon.
- Add the white wine and simmer until the wine has reduced by half.
- Add the cream and laverbread and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Cover and shake for 1-2 minutes or until the cockles or clams have opened.
- Serve with crusty hot bread for dipping in the sauce.
Dessert
Pwdin Eva (Eve’s Pudding)
Similar to an apple cobbler, Pwdin Eva is a traditional Welsh dessert.
Ingredients
- 670g cooking apples – peeled, cored and roughly chopped
- 6 Tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 100g butter
- 1/2 cup
- 100g caster sugar (if you don’t have any to hand granulated sugar will work well)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 100g self-rising flour
- vanilla custard, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (for serving)
Method
- Preheat oven to 180℃ (350℉)
- Peel, core and cut the apples
- Toss the apples in a large bowl together with brown sugar, lemon zest and juice and cinnamon until the apples are well coated.
- Place the apples in a 9 inch baking dish and set aside
- Beat the butter and white sugar in a medium size bowl until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Beat in the vanilla.
- Sift the flour into the bowl and then add to the butter mixture.
- Spread the mix evenly over the apples
- Bake for 40 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned.
We hope you enjoy these Welsh dishes. Bon appetit (mwynchwch eich bwyd)
