Recipes from Wales 1 - Leeks and Bleats

The Welsh people are renown for many things. Their work ethic, beautiful singing and fierce national pride are hallmarks of the Welsh. But they are also known for their love of food.

The Welsh have created many dishes of their own to please any palette. The series of articles to follow will focus on dishes that got their start in South Wales. I hope you find something to your liking.

These recipes are taken straight from the kitchens of some pretty darn good Welsh cooks. They are not as you would find in a standardized cookbook, so it will be an adventure in cooking for whomever tries the recipes!

Article 1: Leeks and Bleats
Featuring Leek Broth, Welsh Lamb Pie and Leek Pasty

Cawl Cennin - Leek Broth

Ingredients: A lump of salt bacon, Potatoes, Carrots, Leeks, Parsley, Cabbage, Oatmeal and Water

Place the bacon in boiling water and with it the roots vegetables, finely chopped.

Remove the bacon and add the leeks, together with some finely shredded cabbage. When the cabbage and leeks are cooked, add a teaspoon of chopped parsley and serve. The cawl can be thickened by adding two tablespoons of oatmeal mixed into a paste with cold water. This may be added when you put in the leeks.

Years ago this was a proper meal, a soup and meat and potatoes. Any broth left over was eaten the next day at breakfast and was known as "cawl ail-dwym".

Welsh Lamb Pie

Ingredients: 1 and ½ lbs. Neck lamb, 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley, small bunch of young carrots, salt and pepper, short crust.

Bone the meat and cut into small pieces, cut the carrots into small medallions and place in the bottom of a baking dish, then put in the meat. Cover with the salt, pepper and parsley. Cover the mixture with the crust and brush this with a bit of milk. Bake in a moderate oven for two hours.

Boil the bone in a mixture of water, one onion, salt and pepper for 1 and 1/2 hours, and when the pie is done baking, strain the mixture and pour on the pie. This can be served hot or cold.

Leek Pasty

Ingredients: ¾ lb. Flour, 6 oz. Lard and a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder.

Mix the above together well, and the mix with cold water to form a paste. Cut this in two and roll it thin to about the size of a dinner plate, and put in two to three handfuls of chopped leeks over the paste. The add a couple of strips of fat bacon, salt and pepper, a bit of cold water and lay the other layer of paste on the mix and cook in the oven until done.