Celebrating Welsh pride: dishes for St. David’s Day

IN THE KITCHEN by Pat Tanner:  The patron saint of Wales is remembered March 1, the day of his death, with some traditional Welsh specialties — honeyed lamb, bara brith and Welsh rabbit.

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Illustration by Judy Martin

   I am fascinated by the rituals — mostly European and often centered around food — that mark the celebration of saints’ days. In my own Italian American family, we celebrated my father’s name day, St. Joseph’s (March 19), with a special pasta dish, and many Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Irish or not. But if you commemorate St. David’s Day, which falls on March 1, it is highly probable you have some Welsh blood.
   St. David, or Dewi Sant as he is known in his homeland, is the patron saint of Wales. A Celtic monk, abbot and archbishop, he lived in the 6th century and is credited with effectively spreading Christianity in western Britain. He is honored on the day of his death, which occurred on March 1, 589 and is remembered by Welsh schoolchildren for a phrase he uttered during his last sermon: "Do the little things."
   Popular legend has it — and it is very much legend — that during a fierce battle between the Britons and the Saxons, St. David advised his fellow Britons to wear a leek in their caps to help distinguish their fellows from their foes. A resounding victory followed. To this day soldiers in the Welsh regiments eat a raw leek on March 1, although many other Welsh have taken to wearing a daffodil. Why a daffodil? The Welsh word for daffodil and for leek is the same.
   It is fitting for St. David to be remembered by the leek. For one thing, he was known to be a vegetarian, reputedly eating mostly bread and herbs. Also, leeks and cabbages are the only vegetables mentioned in a medieval Welsh law that dictates in minute detail what levies of food and drink subjects were required to supply to their king.
   In Wales St. David’s Day is celebrated with religious ceremonies, lots of singing, poetry reciting and, of course, traditional foods, among them cawl (soup or broth) with leeks and lamb, and bara brith, a sweet bread made with tea, dried fruit and spices.
   In our neck of the woods the day is commemorated at The Ship Inn, a British pub and microbrewery in Milford, on the Delaware north of Frenchtown. There Ann Hall and her son, Tim, celebrate many of the British holidays with music and a special menu. These celebrations center on not only saints’ days, such as those for St. David and St. Patrick, but Robert Burns’ birthday and other British holidays.
   This coming Friday night at the restaurant, Welsh music will be performed by Jodee James, while throughout the weekend a special St. David’s menu will feature Welsh specialties such as bara brith, potato and tarragon soup, braised lamb with garlic leeks and shredded cabbage, sticky toffee pudding and, in a nod to the Welsh fondness for melted cheese, Welsh rabbit (or rarebit, as the Halls call it).
   In deference to the latter, I’ve included below a recipe for that dish which was a staple of my early cooking days. The recipe for honeyed Welsh lamb stems from an old tradition that originally employed mead. If you can find this honeyed wine, use in place of the cider. Note that the recipe calls for a small leg, at 4 pounds. If you can’t find one that small, plan on a longer cooking time.
   As for wearing or eating raw leeks, my recommendation is to decorate your table with daffodils instead.
   Cymru am Byth: Wales Forever!
WELSH RABBIT
British & Irish Cooking, Round the World Cooking Library, Garland Books, 1972
   2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
   6 tablespoons milk
   4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
   ½ teaspoon salt
   Freshly ground black pepper to taste
   2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
   4 slices freshly made toast
   Place the cheese and milk in a skillet. Stir over low heat until the cheese melts. Add butter, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir until butter melts. Spoon the mixture on the toast and brown under a broiler for 2 minutes until lightly browned.
   Note: Beer can be substituted for the milk.
   Serves 2.
HONEYED WELSH LAMB
Oen Cymreig Melog Favorite Welsh Recipes by Sheila Howells (J. Salmon, 1996)
   4 pound leg of lamb
   6 tablespoons clover honey, preferably Welsh
   Sprig of rosemary
   Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
   1 cup apple cider
   1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and place the leg of lamb in the pan. Brush the lamb with 4 tablespoons of the honey, warmed, and season it with salt and pepper. Place the rosemary sprig on top. Draw up the foil to form a tent and roast the lamb for 15 minutes.
   2. Lower the heat to 375 degrees and continue roasting for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and continue roasting for 1½ hours until the juice runs pink (or longer, for well done), but open up the oil during the last 20 minutes of cooking time to brown the skin.
   3. Remove the lamb from the oven and keep warm. Pour off the fat from the pan, reserving the pan juices. Make the gravy: In a saucepan combine the pan juices, the cup of cider and the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey and bring to a boil. Boil until mixture is reduced by one-third.
   Serves 4.
BARA BRITH (Speckled Bread)
Adapted from www.hookerycookery.com
   1 pound mixed dried fruit, chopped
   1 cup brewed black tea, warm
   1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
   1½ teaspoons cinnamon
   ½ teaspoon allspice
   2 cups self-rising flour
   1 egg
   In a large bowl soak the fruit and sugar in the tea overnight, at room temperature. Next day, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix the remaining ingredients into the fruit mixture and beat well. Pour the mixture into greased loaf pan and bake for 1½ to 2 hours, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.