With the approach of Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant (Saint David’s Day) - the Welsh day of feasting and celebration on the 1stMarch, three of the most common recipes used throughout Wales on this day are presented here with their historical backgrounds for your cultural and culinary enlightenment.
Cawl
“Cystal yfed o'r cawl â bwyta's cig” (It is as good to drink the broth as to eat the meat)
This popular Welsh saying was first uttered by Cattwg Ddoeth (Cattwg the Wise), a Welsh king in a time when Wales was quickly being conquered by the Saxons in 600 AD whose life closely reflects the tales of Robin Hood. Cawl, literally meaning soup in English, is traditionally slow-cooked using lamb and leeks, though the ingredients often depend on the purpose and time of cooking. Occasionally, families will make the cawl, separate the liquid from the solids and serve as two separate courses. My nain (nanna) used to do this.
Ingredients
2-3 lb. Welsh lamb (you can use scraps, although the more expensive meat you buy, the nicer the soup)
1 large sliced onion
3 leeks
2 medium sliced carrots
1 medium parsnip
1 small swede or 2 white turnips
2 tablespoons chopped parsely
6 small potatoes
Salt and pepper
4 pints water
Seasonal vegetables (these are optional, but I usually include some cabbage and celery if I can get some)
Preparation
Trim as much fat off the meat as possible and then place into a large saucepan, filled with cold water and add salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for an hour before removing it from the heat. Skim off all the fat from the broth, chop all the vegetables and add everything except 1 leek, the potatoes and 1 tablespoon of parsley to the broth. Cover and simmer for one hour. Add the vegetables and continue simmering for 20 minutes. Add the rest of the parsley, season to taste and add the final leek. Warm throughout for 5 minutes and serve. Serves 4-6.
Bara brith
As in most countries, the cawl (soup) is often served alongside bara brith (a special kind of bread), particularly on St. David’s Day. Bara brith, literally speckled bread, can be eaten as a starter, with the main course or as dessert. It is particularly delicious when it has been gently toasted and lathered with a thick layer of butter. Nobody quite knows the origins of this bread but it is believed that a poor cook once added some dried fruit to an ordinary loaf for a special occasion and transformed plain dough into an incredibly moist, delicious and visually appealing fruit bread.
Ingredients
225 grams brown sugar
225 grams sultanas
450 grams self raising flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
1 pinch of salt
2 teabags
Preparation
Make ½ litre of tea with the 2 teabags. Once it has cooled, add the sugar and raisons and leave to soak overnight. In the morning, add the mixed spice and salt. Beat the eggs, add to the dough and mix well. Add the flour and knead gently. Grease two 500 gram cake tins and pour the mixture into both evenly. Place in an oven preheated to 160°C for 90 minutes. Leave to cool, butter and serve. Makes 2 loaves.
Picau ar y maen (cakes on the stone)
Now, we come to my favourite part of the meal – the dessert! These Welsh cakes have been cooked for thousands of years, before ovens existed, to when they would be cooked on a bakestone - a flat stone in an open fire. The mixture would be cooked on one side and then turned to complete the cooking. Due to their manner of cooking, they have become known as the bakestone scone or griddle scone in some parts of Wales.
Ingredients
225g self-raising flour, sieved
110g salted butter
1 egg
½ cup sultanas
Milk to taste
85g caster sugar
Preparation
Rub the fat into the flour to make breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, sultanas and egg, and mix to combine. Using the mixture, make a ball of dough and add a bit of milk to soften as necessary. Roll out the pastry until it is 5mm thick and cut unto rounds using a 10cm cake cutter. Place a well-greased heavy iron griddle or bakestone onto direct heat and wait until it heats up. (Most Welsh students use a baking tray). Place the Welsh cakes on the griddle and turn once, halfway through the cooking. Turn them when they are turning a golden brown (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from the pan, sprinkle on sugar, while they are still warm, and serve.
These cakes have been a favourite throughout Wales for hundreds of years and recipes have been passed down from generation to generation, with each family adding a slight variation from the standard recipe. In South Wales, the cakes are split in two and spread with jam. In North Wales, grated apple has been added to the mixture to aid their preservation. In West Wales, the self-raising flour has been replaced with plain flour and baking powder, resulting in a flatter and crisper cake.
However intimidated you may feel in the kitchen, with such simple recipes as these, there is no excuse for you not to celebrate St. David’s Day with delicious delicacies.
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