CAWL

This recipe comes at the top of the list because it is the National dish of Wales! As the Scots eat their Haggis at their Burns Supper celebrations - so too the Welsh traditionally tuck into Cawl during St. David's day supper gatherings on the 1st of March each year.

Recipes can vary slightly from area to area but the basic dish remains the same. The recipe shown below is a popular one in Ceredigion.

Ingredients

For a family of 3 - 4

You should use proportionally less ingredients for fewer people – or if you want your cawl to last a week then use the following guideline for 1 small person!

You’ll need:

1. A breast of lamb. If it’s early season (Springtime) you may need two because they’ll be smaller. You can also use a neck of lamb – some prefer a breast because of the awkward small bones in a neck – they both taste beautiful (FACT - Welsh Mountain Lamb is the sweetest in the world)! You can also substitute lamb for stewing (shin) beef, chicken or rabbit. Tip: when using anything other than lamb there's no need to cook meat the previous evening - to cope with the excess fat. When choosing your lamb breast pick one that isn’t too fatty with nice light coloured meat.

2. 3 - 4 medium sized carrots

3. 2 - 3 parsnips

4. 1 onion

5. ½ a small swede – don’t overdo the swede because if you’re not careful the flavour can sometimes over-power the cawl, especially if you use too much of it. Entirely up to you -  it’s a matter of choice not a rule!

6. 4 – 5 medium sized potatoes

7. 1 large leek or equivalent smaller ones. Tip: don’t discard the green leaves they give both flavour and colour to your cawl.

8. 1 small cabbage – the dark green savoy type are the best but any cabbage will do. Tip: don’t overload your cawl with cabbage, it also can be an over-powering flavour that can drown out the more subtle mild flavours of other veg. But it is a key ingredient.

9. Any other root vegetable that you can think of that’s available on the allotment!

Preparation

Step 1

1. Wash the breast of lamb in cold water, then cut it into chunks (usually a “chunk” is about 2 ribs wide. Cut again into rough squares - a cleaver is a handy instrument here – or ask your friendly butcher to do the job for you. Tip: don’t cut the breast into very small pieces as they won’t hold their shape as well when cooked

2. Put the pieces into a large pan (a pressure cooker – with the lid on, but without the release valve is perfect).

3. Cover the meat with salted water, bring to the boil and then simmer until it’s tender and falling off the bone.

4. Turn the heat off, remove the meat and put it in a separate dish in the fridge until the next day. Leave the stock covered - to cool overnight in the pan.

Step 2

1. Next day remove the fat from the top of the now cooled stock and throw it away (don’t want pains in the chest in later life!). Bring the meat back out of the fridge & remove all the bones & excess fat from it. Put the prepared meat to one side for later use. Throw the excess fat & bones to your dog – if you have one!

2.      Clean & prepare the vegetables and add to the meat stock – except for the leek. Tip: cut the potatoes into quarters, but don’t cut them too small or they’ll over thicken the cawl (cawl is a traditional ‘thin’ stock dish as opposed to a thick stew).

3. Cook slowly and add 2 lamb stock cubes & 1 vegetable stock cube.

4. When the vegetables are nearly cooked add the meat back in and also add the leek – the last veg - as it gets spoilt if over cooked. Simmer for another hour or so.

5. Serve with bread, & cheese on cold winter days.

Final Tip: Cawl is great re-heated the next day, as the flavours are enhanced when it’s re-heated. It also gets thicker and thicker so may need thinning (a cup of hot water + a lamb stock cube works well).