Cawl
Today I’m bringing you another recipe that you can prep and cook overnight so you can refrigerate while at work to have ready for dinner.
In anticipation of a trip to Wales and Scotland via England, I have been doing my research of all things Welsh and Scottish. We all know that I got the whisky thing down right, even dropping the "e" when talking Scotch. Yet outside of a haggis, whisky (Scotland) and leeks (Wales), I do know what else to expect. (Scotch eggs might not even be Scottish; London department store Fortnum & Mason claims to have invented them in 1738. For more of a tie in, if you go to the Fortnum & Mason site for the week of April 1, the second photo is of the Queen and the two Duchesses taken on March 1st, St. David's Day, the Welsh nation holiday; Duchess Catherine is wearing a daffodil, the Welsh flower.)
Cawl is recognized as Wales’ national dish. Originally a simple concoction of meat and vegetables, cawl was regularly served in winter months as a two-course meal. The broth would be strained off and served as a light soup then the meat and vegetables would be the main course. Today, the dish has developed into a lamb and leek soup and most common recipes included start with mutton or lamb and leeks with the addition of potatoes, rutabagas, carrots and other seasonal vegetables. All the pages about Welsh cuisine and food inform me that cawl should be started the day before so that any fat can be skimmed off and all the flavors can blend – perfect for the slow cooker.
Cawl, modified from the following cawl for slow cooker recipes: squidoo.com, bbc.co.uk - Mid Wales page and allrecipes.co.uk
Ingredients:
Directions:
Lastly, if you are going to serve cawl the traditional two-course manner, I would make this suggestion. After removing the lamb and vegetable, add the reserved parsley and leeks to the broth. This will add more texture to the soup when you serve it as the first course.
The Welsh Leek on a £1 Silver Proof Coin with 24k Gold Plating, courtesy of the London Coin Company. |
Cawl is recognized as Wales’ national dish. Originally a simple concoction of meat and vegetables, cawl was regularly served in winter months as a two-course meal. The broth would be strained off and served as a light soup then the meat and vegetables would be the main course. Today, the dish has developed into a lamb and leek soup and most common recipes included start with mutton or lamb and leeks with the addition of potatoes, rutabagas, carrots and other seasonal vegetables. All the pages about Welsh cuisine and food inform me that cawl should be started the day before so that any fat can be skimmed off and all the flavors can blend – perfect for the slow cooker.
Cawl, modified from the following cawl for slow cooker recipes: squidoo.com, bbc.co.uk - Mid Wales page and allrecipes.co.uk
Ingredients:
The finely chopped reserved parsley and leek. |
- 2-3 lbs. lamb, shoulder (If lamb is difficult to get hold of, stewing beef is a good substitute. Sometimes I do half and half)
- 6 small potatoes, quartered (For durability in the slow cooker, I use small new red potatoes or Yukon golds)
- 3 leeks, washed and sliced, reserving 1 leek for serving
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 large onion, quartered and sliced
- 1 medium parsnip, peeled and sliced
- 1 small rutabaga or 2 small white turnips, peeled and cubed
- ½ small head of cabbage, shredded
- 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped, reserving 1 Tbsp for serving
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 8-10 peppercorns, or to taste
- 10 cps water
Cawl, on the dinner table (and my cluttered kitchen in the background. Shh!) |
- Trim the fat from the meat as much as you can, and cube into ½ inch sized pieces.
- Add the remaining ingredients but the reserved leek and parsley and cover with cold water.
- Cook on Low for 8 hours.
- Allow to cool (preferably 8 hours) and skim off all the fat.
- Return to cook on High for 30 minutes or until at a good serving temperature
- Finely chop the reserved leek and parsley
- Top the cawl with the chopped leek and parsley and serve with bread.
Lastly, if you are going to serve cawl the traditional two-course manner, I would make this suggestion. After removing the lamb and vegetable, add the reserved parsley and leeks to the broth. This will add more texture to the soup when you serve it as the first course.
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