Celebrating sandwiches
Traditional Welsh Cawl Recipe
Did you know that the burger is the UK’s favourite sandwich? No, neither did I until a press release came through this time last year. I’ll give you a moment, as you are probably experiencing the same shock and horror that I did. Where’s the cheese and pickle I hear you cry, the classic ham? Is a burger even a sandwich?
I posed the question to Twitter and thankfully I got a reply from the bastion of bread himself, Dan Lepard. He reasoned that it was a sandwich, but that to call it that was rather archaic.
It did make me think what constitutes a sandwich, and I guess it’s anything between two baked somethings? It's hard to argue with such logic, I know, and yet I can't help but feel cheated by the survey.
So, for the purposes of this newsletter, I’ve decided to define a sandwich. There has to be bread, and it has to have been sliced from a bigger loaf. So I'm ruling out rolls, baps, baguettes, lettuce leaves, the dreaded brioche bun, panini et al. I’m not averse to mayo although butter would obviously be my first choice of spread. Filling-wise, I’m going to say that anything goes, even the unthinkable supermarket paella sandwich. As an ardent hispanophile, I am horrified at the thought, and yet it wouldn’t stop me trying it out.
The great thing about sandwiches, is you can eat them anytime of day. Or if you just don’t know what to have, have a sarnie. Think of a breakfast sarnie. My preference is sausages over bacon on cheap sliced white bread, and it has to be slathered in tomato ketchup, but (shock horror) no butter.
Then lunch could be anything: tuna, cheese, ham, salt beef, egg mayo… this list goes on. This segues nicely into afternoon tea, where I’d be bitterly disappointed not to see a crusts-off sarnie on the stand. I’ve never been the biggest fan of cucumber fingers, but I wouldn't turn them down. But on a buffet table of beige food, cucumber is a no-no.
Unsurprisingly, I have a penchant for corned beef sandwiches like my Nan used to make. White sliced bread, thick with butter to the edges, and slices of chilled corned beef. The trick then though, is to squash it with your hand before eating it. Or failing that, wrap it in cling film and take it on a long car journey to eat with a cup of tea from a flask.
Toasties open up a whole new genre. Bread sweetened by toasting, perhaps a stray gloop of cheese that's browned and crispy, a molten hot filling that you always burn your mouth on even though you could just wait a few minutes for it to cool. This is where the tuna melt comes into its own, with capers, mayo, cheddar and black pepper clinging to the middle of two rounds of chewy sourdough.
Evening surely has to be a chip sarnie to go with your fish and chips. Again, this has to be sliced white bread with butter, crammed to bursting with chippy chips and possibly a spoonful or two of mushy peas. Even leftover Sunday dinner seems to be elevated once squashed between buttered rounds. Leftover faggots and peas is another excellent sandwich filler option for the gourmets among you. And we haven’t even touched on leftover turkey sandwiches on Christmas night, loaded with stuffing and possibly a rogue roast potato and cranberry sauce.
Growing up, I took a packed lunch to school everyday. And it was always the same: a ham sandwich (plus a cut-up apple and a chocolate bar such as a Fruit Club – the best one, no arguing – or a mint Viscount). Thirty years on, I’d still happily have a sarnie every day for lunch – even if my palate has developed somewhat. Here’s to sandwiches – the saviours of lunch (and dinner and breakfast, and as a snack).
The Recipe
Traditional Welsh cawl
If you’re thinking that cawl has already cropped up on the newsletter, you’d be right. But that was a quick spring cawl – with beans and everything cut up small for speed and ease. Now we’re in autumn and we’re all looking for more spoon food, I thought it was time to give my take on the traditional welsh one-pot.
I’ve put rough measurements for the ingredients but this really is one of those dishes that you can use whatever you have in your veg drawer – a few more carrots won’t harm or if you don’t have swede, don’t worry. As much as I love lamb, I prefer cawl with ham. Feel free to use another joint of meat instead. I think this is one of those things that’s best cooked the day before and then reheated. In fact, traditionally, cawl could have lasted a whole week, with bits and pieces added each day to make it stretch, from oatmeal to trolis (suet dumplings).
Ingredients (Serves 4-6)
Small (500g) gammon joint
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into big chunks
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into rounds
1 small swede, peeled and chopped into big chunks
1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into rounds
3 small shallots or a small onion, roughly chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme (or 2 tsp of dried thyme)
1 medium leek, roughly chopped
Black pepper to season
Welsh mature cheddar and bread to serve
Method
Place the gammon joint in a large pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 45 minutes to an hour.
Tip out half the cooking water (it can get very salty otherwise) and the potatoes, carrot, swede, parsnip, shallots and thyme to the pan and then top up with fresh water until it just covers everything.
Bring back to the boil and then turn down to a simmer. Cover and allow to cook for 20 minutes.
Take the gammon joint out of the pan and shred or cut into bitesize pieces and return them to the pan along with the leeks.
Simmer away for a further 10 minutes.
Ladle into bowls and serve with cubes of Welsh cheddar (they melt beautifully into the broth) and a good hunk of bread or bara planc.
If you try the recipe out, don’t forget to tag any photos with #mywelshkitchen.
The Playlist
To me, cooking and music go hand in hand, whether that’s singing at the top of your voice using a wooden spoon as a microphone while waiting for pasta to boil, or dancing around with the oven gloves on as the oven timer counts down. Here are this week’s ideas for your Welsh Kitchen playlist.
This week we have a catchy, up-tempo number from Nigeria-born, Pontypridd-raised Kima Otung, with her R&B/neo-soul sound. Then we have a gorgeous rendition of Songbird by Sophie Evans from Tonypandy. I was lucky enough to see Sophie recently on stage, as she is currently reprising her role as Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked.
I’m Cute by Kima Otung
Songbird by Sophie Evans
The Pantry
Good food is nothing without good ingredients and thankfully there are plenty of fantastic Welsh products on the market. Here is where you’ll find recommendations to stock up your cupboard, fridge or fruit bowl, or a really great place for food.
Tonyrefail Apiary
Who knew there was an apiary in Tonyrefail? Certainly not me, until my friend and fellow food writer Mia Holt brought it to my attention a fortnight ago. This family run business makes a wonderful range of honeys (both set and runny), plus beeswax candles.