Kitchen Diary: July

We are several weeks in to what is undoubtedly the longest heatwave in recent memory with record high temperatures being smashed on almost a daily basis. I have to pinch myself to check it’s real, Porthmadog in North Wales had the highest daily temperature at 33 degrees the other day, down here in Swansea it is a fresher 28 degrees strange things are afoot. Firstly it’s July and I’m writing a blog which rarely happens as in the commercial kitchen things are in full swing, the hot weather has extended our restaurant by about another 60-70 covers as people scramble to eat outside who can blame them? Who knows when we will see weather like this again? especially in Wales!

The Penycae Inn

The kitchen is hotter than ever and feels like the inside of a pressure cooker, a wall of heat greets anyone who dares to venture through the double doors and the poor waiting staff are grumbling as they wait for the next order to be plated, they stand fanning napkins much to the annoyance of the chefs who sarcastically announce that they should try being this side of the pass! Gallons of bottled water are being consumed and we are all looking a bit trimmer as our excess body fat melts away. The restaurant has been exceptionally busy already and the school holidays haven’t started yet, the fine weather and World Cup football has seemingly brought the masses out even in mid week to enjoy our delicious food and to sample al fresco a beverage or two.

The hot weather has dictated the early arrival of lighter dishes and cooking to our menu, gone are the heavier, heartier casseroles and pies. The welcome return of lots of seafood to the menu and the Grill menu, which is always popular, is now the bulk of our daily covers (not helping the heat situation one bit!) salads make a welcome come back, the pan seared Halloumi & Sweet Pepper salad being particularly popular. Monkfish tail receives the curry treatment with a Thai style influence of chillis, ginger, garlic and coconut milk served with a fragrant basmati rice. Look out for my signature chowder of all the top notch fish that is in season right now for the ultimate seafood hit in one bowl, see recipe for this lower down on my home page. We’ve also introduced a Welsh Steak burger complete with bone marrow for the carnivores out there, fully loaded with bacon & cheese and served on a ciabatta bun with our own homemade relish and hand cut chips it ticks all the boxes. Or how about a new seasonal special of Surf & Turf as a platter with monkfish scampi and succulent Welsh Ribeye?

New season Lamb from a farm up the road at Cefn Fedw Ganol farm is now available taking pride of place on the specials board look at their website to buy boxed Welsh mountain lamb here http://www.beaconswelshlamb.wales/2018/04/15/hedgelaying/

Steve is very proud of their sheep farming heritage and shows the black sheep at the Royal Welsh Show, we wish him well for next week as he’s at this years show, hopefully I’ll get a day off to see how he gets on.

Here at Penycae we slow roast a whole lamb shoulder and serve it as a sharing platter….

It wouldn’t be summer without the mention of strawberries and now the Wimbledon final has been decided with Djokovic winning his fourth Wimbledon title the price has started to ease as the availability increases and the hot weather has lead to a bumper harvest this year. France had an extended Bastille Day celebration by lifting the World Cup for only the second time in their nations history.

A simple Pavlova with chantilly cream, strawberry coulis and Basil sugar shows the harmony of nature’s ingredients working together with a helping hand from our chefs

IN SEASON NOW

artichoke, aubergine, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, chillies, courgettes, fennel, french beans, garlic, Pembrokeshire Early New Potatoes, kohlrabi, lettuce & salad leaves, mangetout, new potatoes, onions, pak choi, peas, radishes, rocket, runner beans, samphire, spinach, spring onions, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, wild nettles

apricots [i], bilberries, blueberries, cherries, gooseberries, greengages, kiwi fruit [i], melons [i], peaches [i], raspberries, strawberries

basil, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, elderflowers, oregano, mint, nasturtium, parsley (curly), parsley (flat-leafed), rosemary, sage, sorrel, tarragon, thyme

lamb, rabbit, wood pigeon

cod, coley, crab, dab, dover sole, grey mullet, haddock, halibut, herring, langoustine, mackerel, plaice, pollack, prawns, salmon, sardines, scallops (queen), sea bass (wild), sea bream, sea trout, shrimp, squid, whelks, whitebait

Enjoy your cooking

Andy

The Ultimate Chowder recipe!

Chowder it seems means many things to many people. It’s a minefield of ideals and opinions cooks and chef’s hotly contest and debate which ingredients should or shouldn’t be used and everyone seems to have an award winning recipe.

To some a chowder is strictly vegetarian using only the freshest vegetables from the season such as sweet corn or potato. Others protest that it must be a seafood or shellfish broth that has its roots in France, and even its very name may confirm this as a chaudiere was a cauldron style pot used in fishing communities in France for communal cooking.

It was very economical and nourishing. This form of communal cooking was thought to of originated in the Breton coastal region of France who then brought this custom to Newfoundland, where it is thought to of spread to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and New England.

So it’s origins were firmly rooted in peasant cuisine with some old recipes using slightly soured milk and ground up saltine crackers to give thickness to the soup.

NewEngland chowder uses salt pork, clams and diced potato in a mixed cream and milk base with a little butter. Manhattan clam chowder substitutes chopped tomatoes for the milk and cream and typically leaves out the potatoes.

Another fact confirming chowders French origin is perhaps a fish soup called “chaudree” from the coastal regions at Charente-Maritime and Vendee.

The concept of chowder is simple; it’s a one pot meal solution using a variety of economical ingredients to create something of sustenance which is tasty and therefore favourably suited to peasant communities of old.

But chowder can be so much more…..once described by a critic as “a heart warming broth which cradles you, giving a silky seductive kiss that oozes a warming glow to your toes”. It really is central heating for the soul, and a good bowl of chowder can bring a little sunshine to the darkest of days.

Back in kitchen we process a lot of fish, hundreds of kilos through the summer months. We therefore have a good supply of what we call stockfish that is all the bits and pieces left over from portioning including bones, skin and heads. All of this is frozen whilst at its freshest ready to use in our chowder until we have 30-40 kilos of stockfish. We then place the frozen fish in a massive 80 litre sauce pan and start the two day process that is our signature chowder.

For the first stock we cut about 3 kilos of vegetable mirepoix which is a French culinary term for roughly diced: carrot, onion, celery and leek then we add herbs, spices and aromats to include fennel seed, bayleaf, peppercorns, clove and star anise. Then parsley stalks and some garlic cloves the pan is then filled to the top with cold water and simmered for 4-5 hours but never boiled!

All impurities are carefully skimmed off during this stage. Then all the fish is removed and the stock is strained twice. This stock is de-canted into several containers left to cool and then refrigerated until the following day.

Day2

Cut a brunoise of vegetables about 3 kg to include: carrot, onion, celery and leek (brunoise is a French culinary term and means cutting the smallest dice humanly possible with just a knife!) This is quite slow and even an experienced chef will find this painful. (be warned) it is worth it though.

Salt Pork

It’s worth saying at this stage that we use only the very best air dried salted pancetta which is very lightly smoked, we cut this into thumbnail size lardons and fry them gently in a little oil so that they render down release their own oil and impart flavour. We then cook our brunoise of vegetables in this forming the chowder base.

Fresh aromats are added to the base including bayleaf and a bundle of herbs tied with string so they can be easily fished out when they’ve done their job these include: Thyme, Parsley and Tarragon. The cold fish stock is then added along with some 1/4 inch diced potato and brought to a simmer (but again no boiling!).

Add some cream to the broth and continue to cook until the potatoes are fully cooked and are starting to break. Taste, season with only white pepper and fish sauce (nam pla) initially this should provide enough saltiness.

Leave stand, we use modified potato starch thickening granules in the restaurant they are neutral and carry flavour well. Last but not least freshly chopped parsley, chives and tarragon are added off the heat at the end of cooking. This base mixture is then portioned up and can be frozen or refrigerated.

We then sautee off a selection of fish, scallops and king prawns with maybe a few mussels, clams or in shell Penclawdd cockles add to this our chowder base mix and maybe some marsh samphire and there you have it our signature chowder.

It’s worth noting that we only make this in industrial size quantities, you can obviously scale this back to just a few portions at home. What I’ve hopefully done is to give you the gist of the process.

Enjoy

Andy

Kitchen life post 40, a chefs survival guide……

One chef two very different sets of whites!I’m 41 years of age and I’ve been working in commercial kitchens since I was 12, I got my first qualifications in the industry when I was 16 so this is the official start date of my career in my mind. With this in mind I’ll be celebrating 25 years cooking at the stove this year but it’s nothing like you would think, no banners or parade, no champagne or party just another busy ass week, we’ve been full for Mother’s Day for weeks and Easter is around the corner so the limited down time and quiet period is about to end abruptly with a 300 cover Sunday lunch to kick us off!

The normal panic is starting in work with the stark realisation that we’re nowhere near up to our comfortable level of staffing with at least 2 chefs short and easily 2/3 kitchen assistants down so unless we miraculously magic up some staff things are about to get tough, very tough. My average week consists of 50 hours over 4 days which will increase substantially as the season progresses but I’m at the twilight end of my career supposedly it’s no mean feat boxing out 13 hour shift on your feet all day under pressure, with little or no breaks during the busy days. I know guys in the industry doing 16 hours a day 6 days a week admittedly 20 years my junior and pushing for top accolades but still, it makes me think we as an industry have a long way to go to make this a sustainable career for all involved. I’ve written in previous blogs about how the darker aspects of kitchen life can take hold if you let your guard down.

I’ve known a lot of chefs over the years who have fallen fowl to the vices of drugs and alcohol which helps them to unwind after a busy shift, I used to enjoy a drink myself when I was younger but realised it wasn’t doing my health much good so I packed it up.

As I’ve got older and wiser I’ve begun to understand my body more and realise I’ve got to take care of my physical and mental wellbeing.

I read with interest an article about Gary Jones Head Chef of Le Manoir Quat Saison he had suggested young chefs should exercise and perhaps do a martial art to help with fitness and focus in the kitchen. I couldn’t agree more and would add it’s just as important for us old kitchen veterans to keep fit too.

It occurred to me that this was exactly how I felt when 2 years ago I joined my local Karate club, I was looking to obtain a level of fitness and focus that would help me stay sharp in the kitchen. It’s not the easiest of things to pluck up the courage to go along and fumble hopelessly through class realising that coordination was possibly not your strongest point, to work with a group of people far younger and far more proficient than you’ll ever be, most of whom were still in school or college. I watched in awe of how they absorbed Sensai’s teaching and repeated effortlessly, I looked consciously at my own stance and posturing realising that this was gonna take a lot of effort on my behalf to progress in this world. It was a very steep learning curve of which I’m hardly around the first bend. I don’t have a lot of time to practice and it is starkly apparent that a second lesson a week would undoubtedly pay dividends. The important thing and the reason why I’m writing this blog is the holistic view point of the whole experience part of the journey and it doesn’t matter really what belt I obtain or level I get to (although it’s very satisfying when you pass your grading and move to the next level) it’s about having a period of time that I can push myself in a non work environment. The physical benefits of keeping supple with all my joints pay dividends when I’m on my feet all day at work, bending low several hundred times a day reaching plates out of the warmer, twisting and stretching reaching in, over or around people and objects whilst moving hastily in and out of the oven. I’m grateful for the opportunity to exercise, stretch and de-stress even if it’s only an hour or so a week.

But it’s the mental fitness that I personally benefit from, I like the history of the style of karate we do. It’s the understanding of a system that has been created for maximum efficiency and a real art form, it appeals to my creative mind and I enjoy the learning experience and the spirit of Karate do.

I also do tai chi and meditate throughout the week that helps to keep my stress levels down and also keeps me supple. I would recommend that anyone thinking of a career and perhaps longevity within the Hospitality industry should keep themselves fit and as Gary Jones of the 2 star Michelin Le Manoir suggests that taking up a martial art would be hugely beneficial to stay sharp and focused in such a fast paced environment.

A novice or commis in these whites.

Keep fit, keep focused staying healthy and strong in a career notorious for bad habits.

The day I met The “Boss”

I remember the day well, I was 19 years of age and had been a chef since I was 16, I was working down the road at Llangoed Hall as a pastry chef. I’d been a chef in a busy award winning Pub in the Lake District and the slow, infact very slow pace of the “Hall” was not suiting me, I discussed it with my father who suggested I try the pub down the road…….

It was then I met the owner of the Griffin Inn Llyswen, Richard Stockton he suggested popping in to have a chat, there are some people in life who seem to have natural charisma, they have a magnetism, a lure. After an hour with this chap I was convinced that I was gonna be the next big thing and that the Griffin was going to be my platform. I heard a rumour that he used to be a Jaguar salesman! There was just something about him he had a mischievous glint in his eye, was hugely knowledgeable and an affable genuine sort. The day I met him he was dressed in a waist coat, chequered shirt & crevatte he looked like a country gent but was pulling pints at the bar. I duly put my notice in at the “Hall” and moved up the road to Llyswen. I spent over five years working at the Griffin and “The Boss” as we all called Richard (and still do in fact), was hugely influential in those formative years. The Boss was undoubtedly a catalyst for all things food related he was a very able cook him self and wasn’t afraid to get stuck in beside us. He was a willing participant in all manner of meaty preparation, especially during game season. He would often stand outside the old game larder in the car park removing a pelt from a freshly killed wild deer or plucking & drawing pheasants, wood pigeon or partridge. During the Spring and summer months he would be scaling and gutting fish, bent over his old board with a knife, a sharpening stone by his side, the old knife was warn down to a thin hook shape but still sharp as a razor! He was a keen fishermen and knew all the local spots on the Wye for Salmon & Trout. During game season he traded his rod for a gun and helped keep the game larder well stocked. He taught me a lot and is a true mentor and a good friend. He shaped my career and young mind and has left an indelible impression and work ethic, that has served me well and will undoubtedly stay with me for life. He saw in me back then something that I didn’t really know I had, I hold him solely responsible for lighting the furnace that is my passion for all things cooking and food related that burns within me still over 20 years on.

Richard Stockton (right) with his chum the Reverend Ian Charlesworth aka the Parson & Publican.

An explosion of Flavour just in time for Bonfire night…..

A full moon hangs brightly against a crystal clear November skyline, the distant pops & crackles of a premature fireworks display can be heard followed by a deafening BANG nearby. The thick scent of sulphur hangs in the air which is decidedly colder tonight, a reminder that winter has crept upon us once again. I’m still feeling slightly jet legged from our return to GMT, although it’s been almost a week since the clocks went back I still can’t get use to how quickly darkness falls. That and the combination of returning from a short half term break away in West Wales.

Our annual pilgrimage had taken a slightly different approach this year as the other half of our brigade the “outlaws” from middle England, couldn’t accompany us as the school terms are out of kilter so it’s the first time in over ten years we are not all together. What that basically meant was that I was not required to cook for everyone which equated to nine mouths and a canine three times daily for a whole week, you’d think I be happy but I felt decidedly redundant. We opted to eat out more on this trip instead of cooking, so as the fireworks got into full swing on the night of our return, I came back from the supermarket with the above ingredients to make a Thai style prawn Laksa with noodles. 

I couldn’t think of anything else more inviting than a large bowl of aromatic, spicy flavoursome broth with Tiger prawns to warm you up on a chilly Guy Fawkes night. Don’t be put off by the number of ingredients as this is simple one pot cooking at its best, a large wok would be better still. The exotic flavours of chillies, limes, lemongrass & ginger with punchy garlic smoothed out with creamy coconut milk to calm the heat of the chillies, this really is a marriage made in heaven and a welcome vibrant array of colours & tastes to lift the darkness of a November evening, it blows the cobwebs away and leaves you glowing and satiated.

Serves 4

* 30 raw Tiger prawns 

* 3 tbsp vegetable oil

* 3 tbsp laksa paste (see below)

* 400ml can coconut milk

* Juice of 2 limes, zest of 1

* 1 tsp sugar

* 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)

* 200g Chinese medium egg noodles

* 50g Broken Cashews

* Small bunch of fresh coriander

* 300g of stir fry vegetables, baby corn, tender stem broccoli & sugar snap peas.

*100g of sliced mixed peppers 
For the laksa paste

* 2 red chillies, deseeded if you like

* 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

* 2.5cm piece ginger or galangal, roughly chopped

* 4 small shallots, roughly chopped

* 1 stick lemongrass, outer layer discarded, roughly chopped

* 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)

* 2 tsp of Mae Paloi green curry paste

Blend or finely chop together the paste ingredients

Method
1)Heat the oil in a large pan or wok. When hot, throw in the garlic, spring onion, ginger and green chilli. Add the paste & Cook on a medium heat for 3-4 mins, then squeeze in your lime juice.

2)Add vegetables & Cashews Stir in the prawns, then add in the coconut milk. Simmer gently for 5 mins on a low heat until the prawns are pink. Simmer for a further 4-5 minutes to cook vegetables topping up liquid with water from the noodle pan if needed.

Meanwhile, cook your egg noodles in a pan of boiling water for 4 mins until soft. Drain, then tip into the laksa pan. Season to taste, then serve in a bowl, topped with coriander

Enjoy 

Andy x 

A Seasonal Supper, tasty & meat free…… (memoirs from a recovering carnivore)

It’s been a few weeks since my last post “Meat as a treat” which you can read here:

https://fullerflavour.wordpress.com/2017/10/11/meat-as-a-treat-a-little-less-quantity-with-an-emphasis-on-quality/

My Flexitarian journey continues & my mantra of only purchasing the very best welfare friendly meat is still upheld, I no longer eat any meat unless I’m fully assured of its origin. I was never big into processed food but enjoyed the odd sausage roll, sliced ham or scotch egg and maybe a pork pie once in a while. It’s probably fair to say I ate too much meat on a regular basis, I’ve only eaten chicken once since my last blog it was free range and organic at just under 10 pounds in money for a 1.6kg chicken it didn’t go that far, but it was definitely worth it. The biggest difference was the texture of the meat it was very firm & not soft or watery in any way. The flavour was pronounced with a natural succulence and sweetness from a corn fed diet, but ultimately this was meat that had been worked from a chicken that had exercised & ranged for its food…..

Whilst I was in school the other day seeing the headteacher as part of my governor duties, on his desk, unusually, was a large quantity of squash all shapes sizes and colours, he saw my interest and said; “a grandparent of one of the pupils grows them and brought them in, quite what I’m going to do with them all, I’m not sure” he proffered, I could do a few things I thought but before we exchanged recipe ideas we were called into a meeting and it was all forgotten about or so I thought……

A couple of days later I had my wife’s car to go shopping I opened the boot to load up & there they were, quite literally a boot full, it was now my problem to do something with them; I was happy to oblige.

So for supper tonight we had oven roasted Squash with a stuffing of mushrooms, leeks, garlic, onions & peppers topped with Pecorino cheese and served with a side of ratatouille left over from another meat free supper this week, it was delicious and hardly cost anything as the squash were free!

I’m not going to be a keyboard warrior here and preach to you about how much better my life is, I’m certainly not going to suggest you should all go and do the same and eat less meat- (although there’s a real benefit to the environment and our health the experts reckon) I’m trying to do 4 out of 7 days at the moment. I’m not even going to tell you how much weight has fallen off or how good I feel, because I haven’t really noticed. What I will say though is I feel less guilty and more morally aware of my decision to eat meat, I eat meat far less but when I do eat it I enjoy it more knowing that it has the highest welfare and if there’s any doubt about that whilst I’m eating out then it’s the veggie option or fish for me (ensuring the fish is sustainable of course, more on that later) 

I do however feel that we should all think hard about the moral aspects of being carnivores, it really is the least we can do, we need to purchase our meat with a conscience and ensure that the animals that feed us are treated humanely.

I will get around to some recipes soon I promise…..

Happy cooking 

Andy 

Meat as a treat! a little less quantity with an emphasis on quality…….

Who’d of thought it would take an article like the one below to completely turn me away from eating meat every day, the problem is we’ve all come so accustomed to eating meat every day that these huge processing plants have sprung up to cope with demand, when meat really should be a treat. I’ve made a conscious decision to eat meat less but when I do eat it it will be the very best available to me in terms of welfare & quality, only the best local (organic where possible), meat will be cooked in the Addis-Fuller household from now on.

I have now become what is now recognised as a Flexitarian a flexible vegetarian to you & I. 

I still eat meat-but I have to say-I have given it some really good thought and looked at the pros and cons with regards to the ethics and environmental impact of eating meat and it doesn’t make pretty reading. The whole industrialisation of the industry  is as about as removed from pictures of grazing cattle, country meadows, lush green pasture and farm gates as it gets,  vast swathes of urban land have been turned into clinical processing plants on a monstrous scale like the one mentioned below that has been involved in the latest scandal to hit the industry.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/01/the-chicken-scandal-and-a-dysfunctional-food-industry

I’ve done some real soul searching and asked myself if I wanted to continue eating meat if it was produced in such places? The answer was unequivocally no. 

I then got into some really lively debate with carnivores & vegetarians/vegans to which I found myself sticking up for the latter after there was what can only be called as vegan bashing comments going on, these were some of the replies to my post…….

I had quite a few more responses to my original comment all from vegan & vegetarian people agreeing with my opinion. I’m not about to start preaching or even pretend I know everything about the environmental & ethical implications that meat eating has on our planet, although from what I’ve read so far it would help enormously if we all ate less meat as it is very damaging to the planet growing so much food just to feed animals & the amount of damage livestock grazing and the amount of greenhouse gasses that are produced  combined is hugely significant in damaging natural habitats. Put this altogether with the super industrial size dairies & so called farms/caged colonies of livestock and poultry that then get processed in these huge plants where the emphasis is on scale, quantity and economy I am happy to say that super market meat will never enter my body again.

I’m pretty sure I can safely say we would all benefit from eating less meat, it’s definitely healthier for us and at a risk of sounding a bit hippyish it would surely benefit the planet.

Here are some of the great dishes that I’ve enjoyed cooking & eating this week all with one thing in common….

#Meatfree 5 bean & 9 different vegetables in this vegan chilli

Inspired vegan cooking coconut, cashew & roasted cauliflower curry in a Thai style sauce

Recipes to follow soon

I also think it keeps a cook on his/her toes to cook meat free, it definitely requires a good palate & technique along with a sound knowledge of seasoning, spices & herbs to bring out flavours & deliver a healthy hearty meal that doesn’t leave you feeling hungry, luckily I’ve always cooked a good range of meat free dishes for my customers & I’ve personally always had less meat during the summer months naturally as I love salads, fruits & vegetables. So I’m happy to experiment with nature’s bounty of ingredients……..

Even the smallest flame can light the darkest room, a ray of hope in our industry’s darkest time?

So the industry that I love has apparently moved from a skills shortage, to a crisis point, with a full blown chef shortage? I’ve looked at this in depth and have written about this in my blogs. I have spoken at length about my personal views on how the industry must change if we’re to encourage young chefs into our kitchens my blog the final bell on dinner service? http://www.fullerflavour.wordpress.com has been picked up by local and national press. 

I was asked for a recent BBC article for an upcoming documentary, why I still bothered with an industry that is so sacrificial in terms of what it expects from its employees,why indeed I thought? With many a chef leaving the industry & few coming in to replace them why don’t I jump this sinking ship? My answer was simple, I love to cook & I do what I love. The kitchen was my sanctuary in an otherwise unorthodox upbringing it found me and I am grateful for that and everyday I give all I can back. There’s probably a thousand kids out there that could benefit from this type of environment to give them a purpose, some stability a constant, a family even. I train young chefs now & I find it hugely rewarding, I mentor chefs for competitions and most importantly I’m not done yet, “my best is yet to come!” perhaps I’ll have that put on my headstone one day, but as I say to my guys in the kitchen after a 15 hour marathon shift “you may feel depleted, exhausted, paralysed even, but there is always someone out there willing to push that bit more, how much do you want it?” But I then realise that I’m perpetuating the myth for another generation of young chefs, so what needs to change? I don’t have all the answers but if we try to reduce hours, stress and workload the environment would be more appealing, but that would involve more staff and increased cost, so what we really should be asking is how much are willing to pay for a good meal??

A Forgotten Skills of Welsh Cookery Course is now available at the Penycae Inn.


Just in time for St Davids day the course is a full day including lunch & light refreshments.

Starting at 9am on Tuesdays throughout March, arrival & introductions are carried out with coffee & croissants to kick of your culinary course in style & comfort. 

A busy morning of preparation & cooking then takes place leading nicely up to lunch, where you can sample your efforts in the comfort of our restaurant. Back in to the kitchen for an afternoon of baking followed by afternoon tea with your star bakes to taste.
You will learn to make traditional farmhouse recipes handed down for generations, these dishes include:
Soda Bread

Lamb Cawl

Bara Brith 

Welsh Cakes

Welsh Lamb Cawl: 

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

3 hours

Total time

3 hours 10 mins

 

Cawl is a thrifty traditional Welsh soup dish, full of tradition – recipes are often passed down through families. It is a very simple soup made from a cheap cut of bone-in red meat stewed slowly with winter root vegetables, with leeks added at the end.

Recipe type: Soup / Stew
Cuisine: Welsh

Serves: 5-6

Ingredients

* Welsh butter / olive oil

* 600g of diced lamb shoulder with bones 

* Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

* 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

* 2 carrots, peeled and cubed

* 2 parsnips, peeled and diced

* 2 small turnips, cleaned (you can leave skin on) and diced

* 1 small swede, peeled and diced

* 2 leeks, thinly sliced

* A few sprigs of thyme or parsley

* To serve: Bread, butter and a hunk of strong cheese – Caerphilly or cheddar.
Instructions

1. Heat a large deep pan on the stove with a smidge of butter or oil. Sprinkle the lamb with a little salt and pepper, then sear in the pan until browned on all sides – this step is not essential but gives the soup a deeper flavour.

2. Add 2 litres of water to the pan, and bring to the boil. Lower to a simmer and add all root vegetables – except the leeks. Simmer uncovered for 2-3 hours, or till the meat is so tender it falls apart. As the fat from the meat rises to the top of the pan you can skim it if you like.

3. Twenty minutes before you are ready to serve, add the leeks to the pan.

4. When the Cawl is ready, take out the bone. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.

5. With the rich flavour of the meat you need to season the soup carefully, so do taste before you add more salt. Finally, sprinkle with fresh thyme or parsley for a pop of colour and flavour, and serve in deep bowls.

Notes

* Lamb neck can be used along with other cuts – such as shoulder or even shanks, but a better taste is achieved when the bone goes in the stew too.

Bara brith

Preparation time

overnight

Cooking time

1 to 2 hours

Serves

Makes 1 cake

Bara brith (literally “mottled bread”) is sometimes made with yeast but not traditionally.

Ingredients

* 450g/1lb dried mixed fruit

* 250g/9oz brown sugar

* 300ml/½ pint warm black tea

* 2 tsp mixed spice

* 450g/1lb self-raising flour

* 1 free-range egg, beaten

Method

1. In a large bowl soak the fruit and sugar in strained tea and leave overnight.

2. Next day preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.

3. Mix the remaining ingredients into the fruit mixture and beat well.

4. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake the oven and bake for 1½ hours or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Classic Welsh cakes

Preparation time

less than 30 mins

Cooking time

less than 10 mins

Serves

Makes approx. 4-6 cakes

Ingredients

* 225g/8oz self-raising flour, sieved

* 110g/4oz (preferably Welsh) salted butter

* 1 free-range egg

* handful of sultanas

* milk, if needed

* 85g/3oz caster sugar

* extra butter, for greasing

Method

1. Rub the fat into the sieved flour to make breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, dried fruit and then the egg. Mix to combine, then form a ball of dough, using a splash of milk if needed. 

2. Roll out the pastry until it is a 5mm/¼in thick and cut into rounds with a 7.5-10cm/3-4in fluted cutter. 

3. You now need a bakestone or a heavy iron griddle. Rub it with butter and wipe the excess away. Put it on to a direct heat and wait until it heats up, place the Welsh cakes on the griddle, turning once. They need about 2-3 minutes each side. Each side needs to be caramel brown before turning although some people I know like them almost burnt. 

4. Remove from the pan and dust with caster sugar while still warm. Some people leave out the dried fruit, and split them when cool and sandwich them together with jam.

Soda Bread 

Ingredients

* 170g/6oz self-raising wholemeal flour

* 170g/6oz plain flour

* ½ tsp salt

* ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

* 290ml/½ pint buttermilk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas 6.

2. Tip the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and stir.

3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, mixing quickly with a large fork to form a soft dough. (Depending upon the absorbency of the flour, you may need to add a little milk if the dough seems too stiff but it should not be too wet or sticky.)

4. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly.

5. Form into a round and flatten the dough slightly before placing on a lightly floured baking sheet.

6. Cut a cross on the top and bake for about 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

The Art of Curing, a lifelong passion……

It’s quite a hard thing for me to do; to actually sit down & write this blog about cured meats & charcuterie, it’s because it’s a topic that I’m incredibly passionate about and very emotive, I’m by no means an expert on the subject, although I have spent at least the last 6 years researching the art of curing in quite some depth.

In this time I have been out to Italy on two separate occasions (see my blogs the Italian Job part 1 &2)

https://fullerflavour.wordpress.com/2013/09/28/apulia-the-Italian-job-part-1/

https://fullerflavour.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/bologna-the-italian-job-part-2/

I have come back home to Wales after these trips and put my newly acquired knowledge to the test, and apart from the odd hiccup along the way, which meant I had to throw about 80 quids worth of pork in the bin, I have had some epic results and delicious Salumi to eat.

The Charcutier

His knives are calling there’s work to be done in the Salumiera the passion lives on…….

I’ve been lucky enough to experience first hand the true artisan master craftsman, centuries of knowledge flowing through his hands as they cut, cure & tie, in an almost ritualistic fashion he channels his passion, through his hands the ancient methods handed down to him from his father stretching back through time, his family’s skills down the generations are kept very much alive, with every flick of the knife & twist of string the family tradition lives on, he is the custodian, the guardian of this knowledge he must ensure its survival at all costs.

I’m so very passionate about the whole subject and culture of curing meat, I love the history & the relationship with the land, of how the crudeness of mans basic instinct of survival created such delicate, delicious food. Born out of necessity the art of curing was essential knowledge.

When I think of charcuterie & Salami it is mostly with a faraway look in my eyes, as it transports me to warmer climates & time spent abroad. Although curing meat is a celebrated culinary craft on the Continent, it is yet to be thought of as an integral part of our own British food heritage. This is about to change, as there is a very British cured food revolution coming sharply into focus.
There has always been a strong history of preserving food in the British Isles, but we have become disassociated from it because we look towards Spain and Italy as the main proponents and producers of cured goods. Bacon is perhaps our best example of charcuterie, although it doesn’t rank amongst the most highly-rated products of designated origin such as ibérico ham or cold smoked chorizo or the Prosciutto de Parma.

WHERE DID CHARCUTERIE COME FROM?

Charcuterie derives from the French tradition of using pork and fat so that it could be sold uncooked through the ingenious processes of salting, turning into sausages or via pâtés and rillettes. The term ‘charcuterie’ actually translates as ‘flesh’ (char) and ‘cooked’ (cuit), and the movement came about as a result of restrictive legislation that included a ban on selling raw pork.

‘Salumi’ has its roots in Italy, and is especially focused on dry-curing and air-drying pork and other meats into classic products such as salami, prosciutto, lardo and pancetta. Both traditions were born out of necessity so that gluts of meat could be used beyond the normal perishable date to feed many people.

WHAT’S NEW?

Six centuries on from when the first Guild of Charcutiers was established in Paris, there’s been little in the way of change. Yes, there’s been the introduction of modern commercial factory outlets making and selling charcuterie and cured goods, but they bear only the name of recognised cured goods and none of the quality of the independent, traditional curers. However, the quality products aren’t restricted to France or Italy – there is a great deal of wonderful charcuterie emanating from Spain, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. And now there is a major charcuterie-charged revolution from Britain that is about to put the deli back into delicious.

WHAT ABOUT BRITISH CHARCUTERIE?

At last we’ve woken up to the fact that even though our preserving and curing lineage has been broken, we’ve got everything we need to create world-renowned cured goods. Just like the sudden rise in the quality of our sparkling wines (which regularly knock French vines out of the terroir), there are some British charcutiers making products to rival the best Europe has to offer.

The main reason why Britain is making huge strides in this area of artisan food production is because of the abundance of quality meat that is being produced using the highest animal welfare standards and good husbandry methods. Salting, drying and smoking food is not a technique for making below average ingredients barely palatable; it is a layer of skill and craft applied to fantastic quality meat, which in time turns it into preserved perfection.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURED MEATS
& SALAMI

Salami is one of the oldest forms of curing and perhaps one of the most extreme because it requires a period of fermentation before slowly drying and maturing. It can be made from any minced meat (traditionally pork) and should contain a certain amount of fat to retain moistness and flavour. The meat could come from an area of the pig that has a natural balance of fat to lean, such as the shoulder or belly – or with lean meat, back fat is added to the mix and appears like lovely white mosaic cubes when sliced. Salami is often reduced to pizza topping, although it can take centre stage on any charcuterie platter.

PANCETTA

Pancetta and coppa are also traditionally made from pork, yet where pancetta is common because it’s similar to streaky bacon, coppa is a bit of a mystery. Pancetta is a cured piece of pork belly that, once fully cured, can be sliced and eaten raw, or before sufficiently dried out, can be cooked. Pancetta lardons are great in soups, stews and pasta sauces or even sliced and placed over a pheasant breast to protect it from drying out on cooking. Coppa is a cured muscle that runs from the shoulder into the neck – which is not a common cut in the UK but has wonderful marbling which, when sliced, looks like a river’s tributaries viewed from space.

BRESAOLA

Beef production in the UK is also of the highest standard and is used to make bresaola – often a dry-cured lean cut of beef finished in a cold red wine bath, before being dried and sliced thinly to look like stained glass windows of a church. Bresaola is classically served with rocket and shaved parmesan and drizzled with olive oil as a starter.

PASTRAMI

Then there is pastrami, which is viewed as a typical New York deli classic. You often see it served on rye sourdough with pickles, but it is in fact much closer to being British than American. Pastrami is actually Yiddish/Romanian in origin and historically was cured brisket which was then cold-smoked and cooked in a pot of stock. The British version of this dish was salt beef or corned beef and was actually created by the Navy, so that they could feed crews on long journeys across uncharted waters. Although the individual herbs and spices of true pastrami such as ginger, garlic, coriander seeds and black pepper weren’t part of the Navy version, the techniques were similar.

So much momentum has been gained in the UK over the last few years, that we’ve now got some independent charcuterie producers pioneering methods to create cured goods without the need to add any artificial curing agents. Nitrate-free cured meats are being seen as the epitome of craft and skill, because they are as close to the original cured meats our ancestors ate, but under controlled conditions and without any risk of bad bacteria. There is still some way to go before this becomes the commercial norm, but I’m sure the rest of Europe is looking over its shoulder…

Check out my top British charcuterie producers:

* Duchy Charcuterie, Cornwall

* Cobble Lane Cured

* Good Game (nitrate-free charcuterie)

* Henson (perfect pastrami)

* Hay Charcuterie, Hay on Wye

*Native Breeds in the Forest of Dean

My own cured meats I use in my own kitchens at Fuller Flavour HQ