Cockles and Mussels Welsh Style

Serves 4

 A luxurious but economical dish with a lovely Welsh flavour. This is perfect over Christmas as it is a celebration of all the wonderful flavours that we have in this part of the world, and isn’t that what Christmas should be about – luxury and celebration. Swansea market is the best place to get the ingredients as there a 3 excellent fishmongers and wonderful bacon from Abraham’s. We had this on the big day itself but without the cockles and served with frites.

 

What you need

1kg mussels, cleaned and de – bearded

250g cockles in the shell, cleaned under running cold water to remove grit

100ml Welsh cider

125ml double cream

2 rashers Welsh streaky bacon, diced

½ onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

Handful of chopped parsley

Knob of butter

How to do it

1)    With cockles and mussels, ensure that any that are open, and don’t shut with a sharp tap, are discarded as they are dead and unsafe to eat.

2)    In a very large pan with a lid, heat the butter and fry the bacon and onions until the bacon is coloured and the onions soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute being careful not to burn it.

3)    Add the cockles and mussels and then the cider. Bring to the boil then simmer with the lid on until the cockles and mussels open, discarding any that don’t. Lift out the cockles and mussels with a slotted spoon and set aside while you add the cream and boil until it is thick. Taste and when you are happy put the cockles and mussels back in for a minute. Add the chopped parsley and serve in large bowls with crusty bread and a glass of white wine.

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd’s Pie

Cheap and cheerful food doesn’t need to be boring as this stunning Shepherd's pie demonstrates. I made this last week and I really think humble food like this wonderful Shepherd's pie is up there with the best if you get the right ingredients and treat it with love and care. For my Shepherd'd pie I used Welsh lamb mince and I also made a pastry topping using suet, potatoes are great but try this and you might never go back

This incidentally, is a protected geographical product, in the same way Parma ham must be from Parma. Ever wondered what that little blue and yellow symbol on the food produce you buy stands for? A new campaign is underway to help consumers recognise the PGI food label which is a mark of quality found on foods with a guaranteed regional origin.

Protected Geographical Indication – or PGI - is a European status which is only awarded to food produce with a specific regional origin as well as authenticity and traceability. PGI products in the UK include Welsh Lamb, Cornish Pasties, Cumberland Sausages and Whitstable Oysters.

The UK-wide campaign is backed by the European Union and aims to make people think about the origin of the produce they buy.

“The origin of food has a significant part to play in its quality and it is important that consumers ask themselves where the food they are buying comes from,” said Laura Dodds of Meat Promotion Wales which is leading the PGI campaign in the UK after being awarded PGI status for both Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef.

PGI is a mark that food producers hold in considerably high esteem and it protects regional food products with a quality, reputation or defined characteristic specific to that area. PGI also prevents other food producers from giving their produce the same name when they can’t guarantee its origin and may very well be unauthentic.

Laura continued: “PGI is a relatively new quality mark to the UK so this campaign aims to help consumers recognise the status and what it means. Consumers are already becoming more selective about the food they buy and both restaurants and retailers are increasingly labelling their food with distinguishing characteristics that will not only inform their customers but appeal to them. This trend will continue so consumers who care about food origin can be assured of a product’s PGI status by looking out for the blue and yellow PGI label on the packaging of their product or clearly displayed at butchers and local markets.”

For more information on PGI and on Welsh Lamb, including recipes, Welsh Lamb Club restaurants in your area and the heritage of Welsh Lamb farming, visit www.eatwelshlamb.com

What you need

500g Minced lamb

1 Onion, diced
1 Carrot, diced
1 stick celery, diced

2 tbsp Flour
250ml Lamb stock
125g Plain flour
100g Suet
1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp milk

 How to do it

1)    Fry the onion, carrot and celery with a little oil in a large pan for a few minutes. Add the minced lamb and brown, stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the stock gradually and simmer the whole lot for an hour, adding a little more liquid if it is to dry.

2)    Make the pastry. In a large bowl mix together the flour and suet. Make a well in the centre, add the egg / milk mixture (reserving a little for eggwash) and mix together to form a dough. Pop in the fridge to rest for ½ an hour.

3)    Preheat your oven to gas 5 / 180. Place the filling in a pie dish, roll out your pastry and pop it on top, crimping the edges. Brush with eggwash and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.

Mumbles produce market - Roast lamb with root vegetable mash and red wine gravy

I love the atmosphere of produce markets and could happily spend hours pottering about in them. To be honest I don't feel the same way about the supermarket, where I am in and out as quick as I can. I had two quite different experiences doing my food shopping on Saturday. Seren and I were up and off to Mumbles Produce Market early (I was up at 5.30 to watch Wales beat Ireland in the Rugby World Cup) to get the best stuff and to beat the traffic.
We spent a pleasant hour buying food for tea that evening and meat and veg for Sunday lunch. We tried a few samples of olives and tapanade and bought both, I chatted to a few of the stallholders about their produce. I love to hear the passion in their voice when proudly showing off their best lamb or magnificent romanesCO cauliflower. You know that the dedication they put into growing, rearing or making their produce will reward you on the plate, and give you lasting satisfaction.
That feeling of satisfaction lasted until I went to Sainsbury's to do the rest of my shopping. I have, like most people, a negative or at best, nuetral experience when inside these giant food stores. People don't seem to be enjoying themselves, the food is not sold with knowledge or passion, and customers seem accept it as an unpleasant but necessary part of their week. To top it off I had a row with another customer and her husband who brazenly pushed in front of Seren and I at the checkout (I later got my own back by waiting by the crossing for them to stop for us and Seren and I proceded to inch our way across the crossing at a snails pace).
Buying local is important to me, I'm not too interested in whether the food is organic or not, but I like to feel that I contribute to the local economy rather than line the pockets of a huge corporation. I am not anti supermarket and they have a place in our food landscape but they have come to dominate, as big business is wont to do. Small producers cannot compete with them on price or convenience, but are head and shoulders above their bigger, greedier brothers when it comes to personal service, knowledge, quality and choice. I think to buy local at a produce market is logical and to me, a 'no brainer' as they say. You get cracking produce, grown, made or reared with care, it is a sustainable choice, keeps our communities alive with interest and stops our towns and cities from being just another identikit place to live. I have included some of the best producers in the Food shopping section at the top of the page.

Roast lamb with root vegetable mash and red wine gravy

It is quite satisfying to know that all the ingredients I needed for this dish all came from Wales (except the Rioja). Indeed it is the very best produce from this area and deserves a simple approach so that you can taste the love and dedication that has gone into producing this food. I think that food is more than just fuel because you can show your love for your family through it and support your community while your at it. Just a meal huh!

You can use any cut of lamb you prefer, but I chose breast because I am on a budget. The cooking principle will be the same for tougher cuts like breast or shoulder i.e. slow long cooking but you will need a shorter time for a premium cut like leg. The root veg mash works with any veg you fancy. I used a little potato, swede and parsnip but could have chosen celeriac, carrots or butternut squash - whatever you fancy really but I'd keep it to 3 maximum or the flavours will be lost. By the way if you just use the white or pale veg you can fool your kids into thinking it is just mashed potato.

1 roasting Lamb joint (breast, shoulder or leg)
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 stick of celery, roughly chopped
5 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 sprigs of rosemary
125 ml red wine
100 ml stock (I used veg)
25 ml oil
3 - 4lb vegetables of your choice for the mash

1) Set your oven low to moderate. Pour the oil into your roasting tin and heat on the hob. Season your meat and brown all over. Pop the veg in and give them a little colour too. Add the red wine and stock. Cover and cook in the oven for about 4 hours.


2) While the meat is resting make your gravy by straining the juices from the tin and reducing a little. Thicken with a little cornflour if you prefer. I don't.


3) For the root veg mash - peel and chop about 3kg of the veg of your choice and boil until cooked. Drain, mash and season with a little butter, cream if you wish, salt and pepper. Do this about half an hour before the end of the lamb cooking time so they are ready roughly the same time.

Slow cooked breast of lamb with pearl barley 'risotto'

Maybe its my age. Maybe its because I'm lazy. Or then again maybe its because I have found the secret to great cooking and eating. But one thing is for sure I'm becoming mildly obsessed by my slow cooker and slow cooked meat. Now and again as a cook you produce something truly original and delicious and to me there is no greater joy to be had from food and drink. Today has confirmed my love for the simplicity and beauty of really great food. Yes you can have your fancy techniques and Blumenthalesque gourmet creations and that has a place in gastronomy but I am genuinely stunned by the taste and texture of this honest and simple dish. The dish has 4 simple elements - meat, grain, vegetable / herb and liquid. Nothing else and I am soothed and heartened by this never ending culinary fact of life.

Because of its cheap low key ingredients it means you can try and buy the best quality. Take the lamb, its a breast of lamb which is one of the cheapest cuts and you can get it from the supermarket and it will cost around £2 - £3 for a joint, ready rolled. However, if you pay a pound or two more then you can get the best meat around - Gower salt marsh Lamb direct from the farm http://www.gowersaltmarshlamb.co.uk/ or from the best butcher in Swansea http://www.swanseaindoormarket.co.uk/content/public/stalls/55c.aspx

Using pearl barley in this case works a treat. It has a natural affinity with lamb, soaking up all the juices and releasing them slowly a forkful at a time. Peas, leeks and lettuce are a dream combination and cooking with lettuce will be a revelation - use gem lettuce and most certainly not iceburg. This is a low carb or GI dish as barley releases its energy much slower than rice, leaving you fuller longer and without it upsetting your insulin levels which leads to being overweight. A beautiful Welsh dish.

Slow cooked breast of lamb with pearl barley 'risotto'

Preparation

If your lamb is ready rolled and tied then untie it and lay it skin side down on a chopping board. Drizzle a little olive oil, scatter a chopped garlic clove or two and a sprig of rosemary on the flesh, season and roll it back up and tie it. Season the outside. Cut in half lengthways and peel 6 shallots or small onions and peel 3 cloves of garlic. Make up 100ml vegetable or meat stock and have a small glass of red wine handy.

Lamb

In a large non stick frying pan heat a little oil and slowly colour the shallots and garlic. Then add the lamb to the pan to colour all over. Transfer to your slow cooker or casserole dish and add the stock and wine to the hot pan to 'deglaze' and pour this in with the lamb. You can pop in a sprig of thyme if you wish. Cook for 2 hours.

Pearl barley 'risotto'

Add about 150g of pearl barley around the meat and cook for another hour - slow cooking is key here. When it is almost done add a finely chopped leek, a handful of frozen peas and a handful of shredded lettuce and cook for another hour, adding a little more liquid if it is becoming too dry. Take out the lamb and slice thickly and add a little shredded mint to the risotto. Spoon a little risotto onto the centre of the plate and add a slice of lamb on top. Alternatively, you could make the risotto separately and then have the juices from the lamb as a gravy.



Could anyone suggest a great slow cooked dish using belly or shoulder of pork?

Hake with cockles, bacon and leeks

I have just returned from Swansea market with some great food. I always like to go early, to avoid shoppers and to get the best produce. Its nice to go with a few ideas in mind but not with a list because the best way to shop is to be guided by what is fresh and seasonal. Today is a great example of this guiding principal as I chose some beautiful hake and some great goose rillettes from Paul at Goodies deli. I am a passionate supporter of Swansea market. Its what food shopping should be all about, lively and colouful with a great choice of high quality, good value produce. I think that you would halve your weekly shopping bill if you went to the market for your food and this is largely because you are not tempted by all the 'offers' in the supermarket. I think supermarkets have a place, and I do use them, but to do all your shopping in them seems crazy to me. Going to the supermarket is always an unpleasant experience but going to Swansea market is one of the highlights of my week. This dish was inspired by the market. I had a lovely, whole piece of hake (one of the great fish, in my opinion) and had it scaled and filleted for me. I will simply pan fry the fillets and serve it with a Welsh flavour, a cream sauce made with cockles, bacon and leek. Some new potatoes and the last of the asparagus will make it a beautiful and sustainable family meal.

Hake with cockles, bacon and leek sauce
1 whole hake, filleted and each fillet cut in half to make 4 portions
Head and bones of fish, simply simmered for 20 minutes with a bit of onion or leek top to make a stock
1 small leek, washed and finely sliced
1/2 rashers of streaky bacon, thick cut, and cut into dice
2 tbsp cockles
125ml cream
100ml white wine or vermouth
Butter or oil for frying

1) Fry the bacon until crisp and set aside. Make a  leek cream  sauce by sweating the leeks in butter and then adding the wine and let it reduce and add about 50ml of the stock and let that reduce by half. Now add the cream and bring to the boil.Turn down to simmer, add the bacon and cockles and set aside until you need it.
2)  Now its time to pan fry your hake. Get a non stick frying pan hot, put a little oil in, season the fish on both sides and put in the pan skin side down for 2 minutes. Don't be temted to move it until your ready to turn it over or it will ruin the lovely skin, and this you want to be crispy. Turn over and cook for another 2 minutes and then place on a warm plate with some of the sauce spooned over. Serve with new potatoes and seasonal vegatables or just a piece of bread and a simple salad.