A Collection Of Welsh Recipes
CREMPOG A BWYD MOR (SEA-FOOD PANCAKES)
For the Pancakes: 8 oz (225g or 2 cups) flour, 2 eggs, 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1 pint (600ml or 2 cups) buttermilk or milk, pinch of salt
For the Filling: 2 cups of cooked, boned and flaked fish or chopped shellfish (approx 2lb or 1Kg before boning etc), 2 heaped tablespoons grated hard welsh cheese, 1/2 pint (300ml) milk, 1 heaped tablespoon butter, 1 heaped tablespoon flour, pinch of dry mustard, salt and pepper
Make The Pancake Batter: first beat the eggs well. Pour the melted butter into the salt and flour then add the eggs, beating well. Whilst beating all the while so that the mixture is smooth, gradually pour in the buttermilk or milk. Leave to stand.
Make The Sea-food sauce: In a pan, heat the butter and stir in the flour and let it cook for 1 minute, pour in the milk stirring all the time to avoid lumps. Add the seasonings and dry mustard and finally, mix in the fish and the grated cheese. Simmer until the cheese has melted.
Lightly grease and heat a Welsh bakestone or griddle. Beat up the batter mix well. When the bakestone is hot, pour on a tablespoon of the batter at a time to make the small pancakes. If using a heavy pan, tilt the pan so that the batter runs evenly around. When the underneath is golden, turn and cook the other side. Remove the pancake and drain on paper. When all the batter is used, take a deep dish and put in the pancakes (flat) layering them with the fish and sauce, ending with a pancake on top and a little of the sauce. Put into a slow oven 250F (120C) for 15 minutes to heat up and crisp a little. To serve cut into quarters. Makes about 20 pancakes 4 inches (10cm) across.
PWDIN MYNWY (MONMOUTH PUDDING)
12 oz (240g or 4 cups) fresh white breadcrumbs, 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar or sugar with 4 drops vanilla essence, 1/4 pint (150ml or 1/2 cup) boiling milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter, 3 stiffly beaten egg whites, 1 lb (500g) raspberry or strawberry jam
Serve 4. Put the breadcrumbs into a warm basin and pour the boiling milk over using just as much as will lightly soak them but not make them sloppy. Cover and leave to stand for 15 minutes then flake up with a fork. Stir in the sugar and the melted butter, mixing it very lightly. Grease a round ovenproof dish with butter. Whip up the egg whites then fold them into the breadcrumb mixture. Put a thick layer of jam on the bottom of the dish, then half the breadcrumb mixture, then another layer of ham and finally the rest of the crumb mix. Bake in a slow oven 250F (120C) for about 20-30 minutes or until the crumb mixture is just set. Serve either hot or lukewarm. For Christmas the jam can be flavoured with a little rum or sherry and mixed with chopped crystallized fruits.
WELSH BROTH (A FARMER’S STEW)
2 lb (1Kg) lean bacon, 1 small chicken (2lb or 1 Kg in weight), 1 onion, 1 lb (480g) leeks, 1/2 lb (240g) parsnips, 1/2 lb (240g) carrots, 1/2 lb (240g) swede, 1 lb (480g) potatoes, 1 oz (30g) oatmeal, 2 tbsp chopped parsley, 2 tbsp chopped chives, salt, pepper.
Skin the chicken (use skinless chicken breasts if preferred) and trim the lean bacon. Cut the chicken and bacon into cubes of meat. Clean the vegetables, (except the potatoes) and peel them. Slice the onion and leeks finely – and cut into small cubes the swede, parsnips and carrots. Into a large stewpan or saucepan put the meat and vegetables and cover them in water. Season and bring this up to the boil, then simmer on a low heat for 2 hours.
Skim off any impurities three or four times over the two hours of simmering. After two hours add in the peeled and medium cubed or sliced potatoes. Blend the oatmeal with a little water, stir into the broth and simmer the broth at a medium heat until it reduces and thickens (30 minutes). Add the chopped parsley and chives and simmer on a low heat for ten minutes. Adjust the seasoning. Then serve.
FFAGOTS (FAGOTS)
2 lb (1Kg) pigs liver minced (calves or lambs liver can be used), 4 oz (115g or 2 cups) breadcrumbs or 4 oz (115g or 1 cup oatmeal), 4 oz (115g or 1 cup) grated suet – or 4 oz (115g or 1/2 cup) butter or margarine, 2 large onions minced, 2 teaspoons chopped sage, 1 teaspoon chopped thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, a pinch of nutmeg or mace
Serves 4-6. Finely mince the liver and the onions and put into a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs or oatmeal and all the other ingredients and mix together thoroughly. Grease a large meat tin, put the mixture in and cover with greased foil. Cook in a slow to moderate oven about 250F (120C) for 40-60 minutes. After 20 minutes cooking, take out the tin and with a knife, evenly mark out squares. Return to the oven. 15 minutes before it is ready, take off the foil to let the tops brown. Cool in the tin and break apart to serve. They can be eaten cold with salad or re-heated with 1/2 pint (300ml or 1 generous cup) of good stock poured over to make a gravy.
BAKED TROUT WITH BACON
4 trout (cleaned and gutted), 1lb (480g) streaky bacon rashers (thinly cut – rind removed), 1 tbsp chopped parsley, 1 lemon (cut into 4 wedges), 2 0z (60g) butter, salt, pepper.
Thickly butter a shallow oven-proof dish and put a layer of bacon rashers on the bottom. Place the clean and gutted fish on the bacon, season with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper and sprinkle over the chopped parsley. Cover over everything with another layer of bacon rashers. Cover over and seal with buttered greasproof paper or baking parchment. Bake in the oven at 400F (200C) for 30 minutes. Remove the paper and put under a hot grill or back in the oven for 10 minutes to crips up the bacon. Serve with a lemon wedge and seasonal vegetables.
BAKED STUFFED MACKEREL
4 small mackerel (cleaned and gutted), 1 tbsp chopped parsley, 1 tbsp chopped chives, 2 oz (60g) softened butter, 1/2 lemon (juice only), salt and pepper.
Remove the scales, clean and gut the mackerel, cut off the fins. Mix together in a bowl the softened butter, chopped parsley and chives, and squeeze in the lemon juice. Thoroughly mix into the butter and then season the butter with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper. Put a knob of btter into each mackerel belly. Place each fish on an individual piece of buttered foil and make a neat, loose parcel. Place the parcels onto a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 375F (190C) for 20 minutes. Unpack the foil parcels and serve the mackerel with the juices.
ROAST WELSH LEG OF LAMB WITH GRAVY
4 lb leg of welsh lamb, 2 oz (60g) beef dripping or lard (softened), 1/2 pint (300ml) water, 2 carrots, 1 large onion, 2 celery sticks, salt, pepper, 1/4 pint (150ml) red wine, 1 tbsp flour.
Peel the vegetables and roughly chop them up into large pieces. Place the vegetables into the center of a roasting tin as a bed for the meat to sit on. Wipe the meat and trim away any excess fat. Rub over the dripping or lard and sprinkle over plenty of fresh ground sea salt and black pepper. Put the joint in a roasting tin on top of the peeled vegetables then add in the water to the base of the tin. Loosely cover in a tent of tin foil or the lid of the roasting tin. Put into a pre-heated hot oven at 450F (230C) for twenty minutes, then lower the heat down to 350F (180C) for the remaining time. Roast a leg of welsh lamb for 25 minutes to the lb (480g) and add on an extra 25 minutes. Every twenty minutes remove from the oven and baste the meat before returning.
Once roasted remove the meat from the roasting tin and allow to rest (for 20 minutes) still covered loosely in the foil or the roasting tin lid. While the meat is resting make the gravy. Pour off any excess fat, (leaving the roasting juices and a little fat) from the bottom of the roasting tin – sprinkle in a 1 tsp of sugar and a tablespoon of flour, stir in, then use a fork or a masher to mash down all the roast vegetables into a pulp. Strain all this through a sieve into a saucepan, mashing down the vegetables in the sieve to get all the liquid stock out. Take this clear stock in the saucepan and put it onto a medium heat. Add in 1/4 pint (150ml) of red wine, bring to the boil and then simmer on a medium-high heat until reduced and thickened. Once thickened sieve into a gravy boat and serve the lamb with seasonal vegetables and mint sauce.
EOG (SALMON)
Salmon has a delicious flavour if cooked simply. A whole fish can be rubbed with butter and lemon, wrapped in double foil and either baked in a moderate oven 350F (180C) for 15 minutes to the pound. Or gently poached for the same amount of time in boiling salted water with a dash of vinegar or lemon juice. If serving cold, leave it in the water until wanted, then drain carefully. Remove the skin and lay out on a suitable dish. Serve with mayonnaise or whipped cream or yoghurt with grated cucumber in it. Small cuts can be poached or grilled. For grilling, brush over with oil first but do not have too high a heat (thick cuts would burn before being cooked through). Serve with a nut of butter worked with a lemon juice and fresh cupped parsley.
GOLWYTHAU CIG DAGAD (LAMB CHOPS)
Allow 2-3 chops per person if they are small, 1 teaspoon of chopped thyme, pepper
Dust with black pepper and sprinkle with chopped thyme. Grill quickly under a hot grill for about 5 minutes each side. Sometimes served with mint butter (knob of butter worked with fresh chopped mint) and a little rowanberry jelly.
GOLWYTHAU CIG OEN A PHYS (LAMB CHOPS WITH PEAS)
8 small lean lamb chops, 1 tablespoon chopped mint, 2 lb (1Kg) shelled green peas, 1 pint (600ml or 2 cups) water, 1 level tablespoon cornflour, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt and pepper
Serves 4. Trim the fat off the chops and dust with black pepper. Boil up the water with the sugar and just a pinch of salt. When boiling add the shelled peas and cook for 5 minutes. Strain the peas reserving the liquid. Put the peas in the bottom of a casserole dish and sprinkle over the chopped mint. Cream the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of water, heat up the pea stock and stir it in mixing well until smooth. Pre-heat the grill and also set the oven to 350F (180C). Quickly sear the chops on both sides. Pour the peas stock over the peas in the casserole and lay the chops on top. Put the uncovered casserole in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve with finely pureed potatoes.
TEISEN GOCOS (COCKLE CAKES)
6 dozen (72) cockles (or clams) “about 4 quarts”, a little oatmeal, deep oil for cooking
For the Batter: 8 oz (225g or 2 cups) flour, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 egg separated, salt, 1/2 pint (300ml or 1 cup) tepid water.
Stand the cockles in slightly salted water sprinkled with oatmeal for several hours or overnight. Drain then scrub them well to remove sand and grit. Put into a large saucepan with salted water to cover and bring to the boil for about three minutes or until open. Do not continue to cook once the shells open as it can make them rubbery. Leave until cool enough to handle.
To make the batter: put the flour into a basin add the salt and the oil then stir in the beaten egg-yolk and the water. Beat until smooth and leave in a cool place. The batter mix is meant to be of a thick consistency.
Remove the cockles for their shells with a sharp knife. Beat the egg white until stiff and fold into the batter. Heat the oil for deep frying until just smoking. Dip one or two cockles together in the batter and using a spoon, drop into the hot oil and fry until golden. Drain on absorbent paper. If lightly fried, until just coloured, the cockle cakes can be reheated without losing the taste or crispness of the batter. Serve with lemon wedges and home-made bread. Serves 4-6.
PUNCHNEP
1lb (500g) potatoes, 1lb (500g) young white turnips, 2 tablespoons butter, 4 tablespoons warm cream, water, salt and pepper
Serves 4-6. In separate pans, boil the potatoes and turnips in salted water. Drain well then mash separately adding pepper to taste and divide the butter between each vegetable. Combine the vegetables and beat well together until the mixture looks like alabaster. Put into a deep bowl, then make 6-8 holes down through the puree into which warm cream is poured. Serve hot. Warm butter or plain yoghurt brought to room temperature can be used in place of cream.