Rustle up some Welsh recipes in celebration of St David’s Day

GIVE Welsh food some welly this St David’s Day.

Go to town with a feast of favourites including leeks, cheese and juicy lamb.

Then bring your celebrations bang up to date with some newer exports from the country’s coast and countryside.

I also share two fab Welsh recipes from morrisons.com.

SOME of our most-loved dishes have their roots in Wales.

From delicious lamb to Caerphilly cheese, tuck into these traditional Welsh wonders this weekend.

Great with a cuppa

Tan Y Castell Welsh cakes are down from £1.18 to 80p at Morrisons.

Lush leeks

Grown in Welsh soil, Blas Y Tir Welsh leeks, 500g, £1.50 from Ocado.com.

Cream of the flock

Slice up a log of Morrisons Welsh goat’s cheese, 125g, £2.20.

Digging deep

Originally made for Welsh miners, tuck into Caerphilly cheese, £2, from Asda.

Chop, chop

Hurry to the kitchen to cook up Morrisons British lamb chops, 360g, £4 per pack, or three packs for £10.

Exploding with taste

The Snowdonia Cheese Company’s Black Bomber extra-mature Cheddar makes a scrummy Welsh rarebit for St David’s Day, £18.50 per kilo at Waitrose.

What a pickle

Parsons has been producing pickled mussels for more than 50 years – and Parsons Welsh pickled mussels are £1 at Morrisons.

Raise your glass

Toast St David with Brains SA Gold, £1.80 for 500ml or three bottles for £5 at Waitrose.

Veggie heaven

Morrisons six vegetarian Glamorgan sausages, 300g, £1.57.

New Welsh wonders

WHILE some Welsh recipes date from centuries ago, a host of newer products have established themselves, too.

Here is a taste of some recent arrivals from Wales, each available all across the UK.

Eat your oats

Tuck into a bowl of Lizi’s Original Granola, made in Cardiff, down to £3 from £3.68 at Asda.

New wave

Apparently Barack Obama is a fan of Halen Mon sea salt, produced from the waters around Anglesey, £3.75 from Ocado.

Top of the pots

Making yoghurt in Wales since 1984, Rachel’s Organic has low-fat bio-live raspberry yogurt, 450g, £1.85 at Waitrose, or buy two for £3.

There’s a buzz about it

Started in 2011 from a beehive in Scott Davies’s mid-Wales garden, Hilltop Honey has raw acacia honey, 227g, is £3.99 from Tesco.

Welsh sizzler

Over the past 15 years, Edwards of Conwy has been sending his sausages across the country. Ten Traditional Pork Chipolatas are down to £1.50 from £3 until March 20 at Ocado.

Roast lamb with leeks and tarragon

(Serves eight)

YOU NEED:

• 2kg lamb leg roast;
• 3 leeks, thinly sliced;
• 100g butter;
• 1 heaped tbsp fresh tarragon or rosemary,
• finely chopped;
• 2 cloves garlic,
• finely chopped;
• salt and pepper;
• 250ml white wine;
• 1 kg baby new potatoes;
• 2 tbsp plain flour;
• 300ml lamb stock, from a cube;
• 25g mint, chopped;
• 2 tbsp capers.

METHOD: Remove the lamb from the fridge one hour before cooking.

Cook the leeks in half of the butter, over a medium heat, for ten minutes.

Add tarragon – or rosemary – after five minutes. Take leeks off the heat and stir in the garlic and season, with salt and pepper.

Leave to cool.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.

Cut four deep incisions in the lamb, in between the string so that the lamb holds its shape.

Push the leek mixture into all the incisions and rub in thoroughly.

Place the remaining leeks on the base of a large roasting tray and put the lamb on top.

Season well and pour over the white wine.

Cover with foil and cook for ten minutes before reducing the heat to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.

Cook the lamb for two hours 20 minutes, removing foil halfway through.

Set the lamb aside to rest for 15 minutes, covered in foil.

Meanwhile, cook the potatoes, according to the instructions on the packet.

Put the roasting tray over heat or transfer the juices to a pan.

Stir in some flour and cook for a minute, then add the stock.

Bring to a simmer, stirring all the time. Check the seasoning.

To serve, melt the remaining butter, and stir in mint, capers and seasoning.

Spoon over the potatoes. Carve lamb and serve with gravy.

Bara birth

(Serves 12)

Bara brith, or “speckled bread”, is a traditional Welsh fruit loaf.

Our version is baked using self-raising flour instead of the traditional yeast method, but it is delicious served sliced and buttered. Yum.

YOU NEED:

• 150g light Muscovado sugar;
• 400g mixed dried fruit;
• 1 orange, zest only;
• 100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled;
• 1 large egg, beaten;
• 300g self-raising flour;
• 2 tsp ground mixed spice,
• 15 cubes sugar, roughly cut; 200ml strong tea, strained.

METHOD: Place the tea and dried fruit in a mixing bowl.

Cover and leave to soak overnight.

Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/Gas Mark 3.

Grease and line a 1.2-litre non-stick loaf tin with non-stick baking parchment.

Add the sugar to the dried fruit mix and stir well.

Add orange zest, butter, beaten egg and stir together.

Sieve the flour and mixed spice into the bowl and stir.

Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin.

Scatter over the sugar cubes.

Bake for one hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Leave to cool completely in the baking tin.

Serve sliced and buttered.