food
Leek and potato Soup
Celebrating Welsh Cuisine MARCH THE 1ST IS SAINT DAVID’S DAY, HE IS THE PATRON SAINT OF WALES AND THIS, UNSUPRISINGLY, STARTED ME THINKING ABOUT WELSH FOOD AND RECIPES
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I’ve given the French version of the dish ‘Welsh’ which, like its Welsh original, is made from melted cheddar cheese, beer, bread, ham, mustard and Worcestershire My first thought was Welsh rarebit, or sauce, which is browned in the oven. The Welsh rabbit as my mother used to call it. French version includes a slice of ham and Actually, she wasn’t far wrong with her sometimes a fried egg on top. It is ‘mispronunciation’; evidently, the name of recommended to serve it with pommes Welsh rabbit was one way of referring to frites and a beer – and I thought that this dish as a low quality substitute for sounds just like a fancier version of the rabbit meat. eponymous ‘Croque-monsieur’ and his better dressed wife So indeed, Welsh rarebit, My mother would have ‘Croque-madame’! or ‘Welsh’ as it is known made it with slices of in France, is a dish I often make ‘Flamiche’ originating from Wales cooked ham and a which is a delicious French that has become one of cheesy sauce leek tart or quiche, typically the specialities in the using a soft rind cheese such Nord and Pas de Calais as Port Salut or Livarot. Leeks are and more particularly in the Lille region. synonymous with Wales and Welsh It would have been imported there by a cooking and very typically paired in a tart Welsh garrison stationed at Baincthun, with Caerphilly or goat’s cheese, another near Boulogne-sur-Mer, during the siege very similar Welsh/French classic dish. of Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1544 by Henry Leek and potato soup is a firm favourite of VIII. In Welsh the dish is called cawsours and our guests at the chateau. I wedi-pobi (meaning ‘cooked cheese’). t didn’t take me long to realise that many well-known Welsh dishes have their very own French equivalents.
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Welsh Rarebit
Belinda, the ‘Accidental Chatelaine’ loves to cook at any opportunity and is delighted to be able to share that love with you By Beli n
da Prin ce
www. chateaumareuil.com
usually serve it as a winter warmer, piping hot with crusty bread. Vichyssoise (sounds so elegant doesn’t it!) is another well-known French classic, served chilled as a refreshing summer starter. The recipes can be almost identical, although the one I’ve given here this month has the addition of celery to add a different flavour dimension. And the final recipe for the beloved leek, one of my childhood favourites - leeks and ham in cheese sauce. My mother would have made it with slices of cooked ham and a cheesy sauce made in the traditional ‘Béchamel’ style; the recipe here uses a cured ham, and crème fraîche provides the creamy topping. And then I thought of another of my favourites which I make here in France, ‘endives au jambon’ – it’s almost identical, just swap the leeks! And lastly, Welsh cakes – I couldn’t find a French version, they are most definitely Welsh, but if anyone knows of one….
