St David is the patron saint of Wales and today, March 1, is a traditional day of celebration of Welsh culture around the world.
To celebrate, our Food & Nutrition Coordinator, Alexis, has put together a recipe for a seasonal, sustainable two course feast with a distinctly Welsh flavour.
The first course features leeks, the national emblem of Wales, in all their glory. Leeks are grown in our CSA kitchen garden, and are a popular feature of the weekly share at this time of year. For dessert it's Welsh cakes, of course!
LEEK CRUMBLE
Delicious served with tomato chutney and a fresh side salad
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 leeks, white part mainly, cut into 2cm rounds
25g butter
SAUCE
50g butter
50g plain flour
200m vegetable stock
200ml milk
50g smoked cheddar, grated
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp English mustard
1/2 tsp salt
CRUMBLE TOPPING
100g rolled porridge oats
100g wholemeal flour
25g pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp thyme leaves
25g butter
100g cheddar, grated
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper, freshly ground
Method
1.Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
2. Add the butter to a large frying pan and set over a medium heat. When foaming, add the leeks and fry until almost cooked with a slight colour. Pour into 4 individual oven dishes, or one big ovenproof dish and leave to one side.
3. Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 5 minutes, stirring to avoid lumps. Whisk in the stock followed by the milk and cook until thick, making sure you stir continuously.
4. Add the cheddar, salt and two mustards and mix to combine. Pour the sauce over the leeks to cover.
5. To make the topping, combine the oats, flour, thyme and seasoning in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub the mixture together until the it resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the pumpkin seeds.
6. Add the cheese and mustard, mix again and sprinkle over the leeks. Place in the oven for 20 minutes until the topping is a nice golden-brown and the filling is bubbling.
WELSH CAKES
(Or in Welsh: picau ar y maen, pice bach, cacen gri or teisen radell)
Ingredients (makes 8)
225g of self-raising flour, or 225g plain flour and 1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt, ideally Welsh sea salt
100g of butter, plus extra for cooking
50g of caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
50g of currants
1 egg, beaten with 3 tbsp milk
Method
1. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl and rub in the margarine or butter. Add the sugar and currants and stir well
2. Pour the egg mixture in and mix until you have a stiff dough
3. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured board until 5mm (1/4 inch) thickness and stamp out rounds with a pastry/biscuit cutter
Stamp out rounds with a pastry/biscuit cutter
4. Heat the griddle over a medium heat until hot and grease with a little butter – the baking griddle should be well-greased, and then heated until a little water sprinkled on the surface skips about in balls, evaporating. A heavy cast iron frying pan makes a good substitute. Cook the cakes for about 3 to 4 minutes each side, until they are golden brown and have risen slightly
Cook the cakes for about 3 to 4 minutes each side
5. Serve immediately sprinkled with a little extra caster sugar