For the past fortnight, I’ve been involved in the Wales Week London celebrations. It’s a month-long mix of cultural, business, arts, food and entertainment events across the capital. It’s something that every year makes me realise just how crucial the link between Wales and London is and has always been.
A walk around the City of London with tour guide Caroline James taught me all about the historic London Welsh societies of the 18th and 19th Centuries (Cymmrodorion, Society of Ancient Britons, and Gwyneddigion) that used the taverns and inns around St Paul’s as their meeting places to preserve their Welsh culture and identity by singing, reciting poetry and sharing stories and language over a tipple. Nice to see that some traditions persevere!
A Taste of Wales event at the fabulous Lancaster House (where the Buckingham Palace scenes are filmed in Netflix’s The Crown) gave me the chance to meet some incredible Welsh food and drink producers (more on that later).
St David’s Day itself, started with a mad dash (thanks to the Tube strike) to a celebration of Wales at the Speaker’s House and State Apartments in the Palace of Westminster. Ably compered by Huw Edwards, the congregation heard music and poetry performances from the students of the London Welsh School / Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain, harpist Catrin Meek and my own choir Côr Y Boro. Remarkably, this also marked the first time the Welsh flag had ever been raised at Parliament. The choir hotfooted it over to Borough Market for more singing, before ambling up to London Welsh HQ (the London Welsh Centre) for the annual Cawl (stew) a Chân (singing).
I’ve spoken before about how it’s these little Welsh things: celebrations, get-togethers etc. that have kept me in London quite so long. And aptly, St David’s most famous quote, said to have been uttered in his last sermon, was, “Gwnewch y pethau bychain” “Do the little things”.
It got me thinking about how important the little things are when it comes to food and cooking, too. Small touches can make a big difference to the way we enjoy food. Here's my list of the little things. Let me know yours.
1) Seasoning – salt can make a dish come to life and proper seasoning is crucial for making sure all the effort of preparing a dish pays off in the tasting.
2) Bowls of crisps – on this I am in agreement with Nigella and Dame Vera Lynn. The act of tipping the packet of crisps into a bowl seems to elevate the experience of eating them – especially if you do as Nigella and serve them with a Campari and soda.
3) Lemon – while I'm not the biggest fan of lemon-flavoured things, I am forever adding lemon to give a lovely freshness, whether that’s grating the zest over finished pasta, squeezing the juice over paella, or simply popping a slice in a glass of water (or a G&T) to add a little extra something.
4) Sharing plates – I love trying a bit of everything and whether it's tapas, sushi, cicchetti, I think the arms reaching across each other and the act of offering up food, "Oh, you must try this one", makes the meal-going experience much more enjoyable.
5) Music – I don't mind a spot of background music when I'm eating, but I seem to not be able to cook in the same way without good dancing or singing music on. It's the reason for the playlist each issue.
6) Spatula - I think a spatula is probably my favourite kitchen implement. I use them for everything, mixing, folding, flipping, and most satisfyingly of all for my waste-saving compulsion, scraping every last bit out of a bowl or pan.
7) Good wine glasses – talking of elevating an experience, a good, beautifully thin wine glass can make even a mundane bottle seem a little bit more special. And if you’re going to have a glass of wine, why not make it an occasion?
8) Tea – a hot cup of tea (in a cup with a white inside!) can solve any problem and cure any ill in my mind. I wrote about that last year if you want a read.
9) Butter – surprise, surprise that butter makes this list. I'm not exactly shy in declaring my love of this joyous spread. We've already mentioned salt and acid, and fat makes up the hold trinity. I also love a glug of olive oil, but butter has a magical quality to make the great become divine.
A belated happy St David's Day from my Welsh Kitchen!
The Recipe
Chicken, leek and tarragon pie
It's British pie week and that coupled with the theme of this month's newsletters being one-pot dishes, this classic chicken and tarragon pot pie seemed deliciously apt. You could make the pastry if you want but puff pastry is such a faff when the ready-made stuff is quick and easy and just as good.
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 chicken breasts, roughly chopped (or leftovers from a roast chicken)
Knob of butter
1 large leek, roughly chopped
Handful of chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
1½ tsp dried tarragon
1½ tsp mustard powder
2 tbsp plain flour
100ml white vermouth (or dry sherry or white wine)
200ml chicken stock made with two stock cubes
200ml milk, plus a little extra for washing the top of the pastry
Salt and pepper
1 pack ready-made puff pastry (usually about 300g)
Method
In an ovenproof dish (I use a cast iron casserole but you could use a big frying pan and then transfer to a oven dish), gentry cook the chicken. Remove from the pot and set to one side.
Add the butter to the pot and tip in the leek and mushrooms and allow to soften (stirring frequently) for a few minutes. Return the chicken to the pot.
Sprinkle over the tarragon, mustard powder and plain flour and give everything a good mix. Turn up the heat a little and tip over the vermouth and stir.
Add the chicken stock and milk and season. Turn down the heat and gently simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to Gas Mark 6/390°F/200°C. Roll out the pastry if not already rolled and using either the lid of the pot or a dinner plate a bit bigger than the pot, cut out a circle of pastry.
Remove the pan from the heat and carefully place the pastry lid on top, roughly tucking in the sides and making a slit in the top to let the steam out. Brush with milk and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Enjoy either by itself or with some seasonal green vegetables. 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.
We couldn't celebrate St David's day without a choir, so we have a few of the performances from Côr Y Boro that I mentioned above. Secondly, we have Charlotte Church. If you didn’t watch The Masked Singer, you won’t have heard the incredible range and talent of Mushroom, who was revealed to be none other than Cardiff’s own Charlotte Church. Here are all her brilliant performances.
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.
Brooke’s Dairy Angiddy Cheese
I was lucky enough to bump into the lovely Wye Valley Brooke’s Dairy at the Welsh market in Brick Lane last week and sample their cheese. It didn’t take long to convince me that I needed to buy some to take home for dinner that night. Made from milk from their herd of Jersey cows, Angiddy is a mould-ripened soft cheese that is a bit of a cross between a brie and a camembert. Thanks to the milk, the inside has a wonderfully sunrise gold colour. I studded mine with garlic and rosemary and drizzled with olive oil before baking in the oven until gooey, and then dipped up indulgent portions with some Cradocs crackers.