Today was St David’s Day, which for those of you who don’t know, is a day of celebration for our Brothers and Sisters over on the other side of the bridge. It’s also the one day of the year on which we allow Welsh Neil to control the office playlist – something which rather predictably led to mass quantities of Tom Jones, several renditions of Bread Of Heaven and a one-man Charlotte Church sing-a-long. So whilst Neil continues with the festivities, we’ve decided to knock up this little blog post with a few of the best Gluten Free Welsh Recipes out there on the world wide web…

Welsh Cakes

Well it was always going to be these little beauties wasn’t it. These fabulous fluffy treats can be found on many-a-welsh market and make for the perfect post-lunch treat. Here’s what to do:

Ingredients

• 225g gluten free white flour
• 75g caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 110g butter
• 75g dried mixed fruit
• 1 small egg

Method

1. First, sift together the flour, caster sugar & nutmeg. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the dry mix, as you would for making pastry. When the mixture becomes crumbly add in the fruit. Beat the egg and then add this into the mixture, working it into a dough.
2. Move the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and roll out to ½ centimetre thick. Using a 6.5cm circular cookie cutter cut the dough into disks. Keep re-rolling the left-overs until all the dough is used up.
3. Using kitchen paper lightly smear the griddle pan all over with butter and warm over a medium heat. Cook the cakes in batches for 3 minutes each side until golden browned – making sure that they are cooked on the inside as well as the out.
4. Sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar and serve warm!

*Courtesy of Natural Kitchen Adventures*

Welsh Rarebit

So, hands up who actually knows what this is? No, weren’t sure either. If we’re being completely honest we thought it was a stew. Turns out it’s an incredible form of cheese on toast and 100% worth the effort…

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter, plus extra for toast
• 2 teaspoons brown rice flour
• 1 teaspoon potato starch
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) gluten-free beer, such as Green’s Ale from Belgium, or other gluten-free beer of choice
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free Worcestershire sauce, such as Wan Ja Shan
• 2 cups (4 ounces) best-quality sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 4 slices soft whole-grain gluten-free sandwich bread, toasted and buttered

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Blend in the rice flour and starch, and let bubble until light golden-brown, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the mustard and cayenne.
3. Whisk in the beer and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the heat to low, add the cheese, and stir until smooth, 1 minute or less.
4. Remove from the heat. Spread thickly on the buttered toast, covering the crusts so they don’t scorch. Broil briefly until the sauce bubbles.

*Courtesy of Gluten Free Living*

Leek & Potato Soup

So we’re not sure if this counts as Welsh, but since the leek is a national emblem of Wales we’re going to go right ahead and say it does! A great little recipe for a chilly March afternoon.

Ingredients

• 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
• 6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1″ cubes
• 2 large leeks, sliced into rounds
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 6 cups veggie stock or 6 cups water + 1 veggie bouillon cube
• 2 tsp dried thyme, or 1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• ½ tsp dried dill, or 1 tsp chopped fresh dill (optional)
• 1-2 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp black pepper, and more to taste

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add leeks and potatoes, and sauté for about 5 mins, stirring constantly.
3. Add in carrots, thyme, salt, & pepper, and dill if using. Saute for another 5-10 minutes.
4. Add veggie stock and bring soup to a near boil. Reduce to low heat, cover pot, and simmer for about 45 minutes.
5. At the end of simmering, use a stainless steel immersion blender to puree of the soup in the pot until you reach the desired level of smoothness.
6. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
7. Garnish with fresh parsley or pumpkin seeds, and serve along side your favourite gluten-free toast.

*Courtesy of Naturopathic by Nature*

 

Mwynhau! (That means ‘enjoy’ in Welsh…)