For the love of lamb
Slow-cooked breast of lamb with laverbread stuffing recipe
“Have you heard the one about the Welshman and the sheep?” I always find jokes (or even insults) with this premise funny. Not for the reason they think, but because they have no idea how vital a role sheep play – and have played – in Welsh culture, industry and cuisine.
It’s thought that there are about 10 million sheep in Wales – roughly three sheep to every one person – and they are reared for wool, milk and meat. I remember teaching a group of 12-year-olds about Wales and telling them this fact, to which one boy asked where I kept my three sheep if I live in the city. I did think of creating some fanciful story of them living in the spare room, but in the end I chose to explain that I didn’t mean that each person literally had three sheep.
As I mentioned in my Hafod and Hendre newsletter, Welsh hill farming goes back hundreds of years, mainly due to around 80 per cent of farm land in Wales not being suitable for crop growing. Mercifully, it does make it perfect for rearing lamb and beef cattle, which roam the hillsides and feed on fresh grass (thank you rainy Welsh weather), heather and other organic hillside plants. Following research by Bangor University, Welsh hill farms are thought to be among the most sustainable meat production systems in the world, due to their non-intensive nature, high rainfall and good grass growth. This method of organic farming also helps give the meat its distinctive flavour – and affords it its PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status, meaning Welsh lamb (and Welsh beef) has special characteristics that are unique to Wales and cannot be replicated anywhere else.
I read a piece recently by chef Marco Pierre White who said, “Hill lamb is so different from the mild lamb we know, it has a very good coating of fat, which gives it a stronger but very good flavour”. And it’s true that chefs across the world value Welsh lamb. About a third of all the lamb we produce is exported (particularly to the Mediterranean) where food traditions favour slow cooking lamb to bring out its flavour and make it meltingly tender. Welsh lamb was a favourite of Queen Victoria, who is supposed to have demanded Welsh lamb for the royal table whenever lamb was on the menu. And if it’s good enough for Queen Victoria, then it’s good enough for me.
The Recipe
Slow-cooked breast of lamb with laverbread stuffing
Once, when I was extolling the virtues of Welsh food, someone said, “But isn’t it just lamb, leeks and laverbread?” I was a little affronted at first, but then replied that Welsh food is about so much more, but as a starting point, those three ingredients are pretty spectacular in their own right. With that in mind, this recipe contains all three.
Lamb breast is very much like pork belly – it’s fatty – but if cooked low and slow becomes beautifully tender, and the fat gives incredible flavour. It’s also one of those underused cuts, making it very good value for money.
Ingredients (serves 4-6 as part of a main course)
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
50g breadcrumbs
2tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
60g (half a tin) laverbread
Zest of an orange
750g rolled breast of Welsh lamb
1 small leek, roughly chopped
250ml medium cider (I love Afal y Graig)
2tbsp honey
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°C/Gas Mark 3. Remove lamb from the fridge, untruss and lay flat on a board or plate skin-side down. Keep the trussing bands or string.
Grate the onion and garlic into a bowl and add the breadcrumbs, chopped rosemary, laverbread and orange zest. Mix together. Add the egg and mix again to form a thick stuffing mixture.
Generously season the lamb breast with salt and pepper before laying the stuffing lengthways across the middle. Roll the lamb breast up from the longest side and retruss the roll using string or bands.
Heat a little olive oil in a large flameproof casserole or heavy-based frying pan and then brown each side of the rolled lamb. Remove the lamb to a side plate.
Add the chopped leeks to the pan and sauté for a few minutes. Then deglaze the pan with the cider before bringing to the boil and then taking off the heat.
If your lamb will fit back in the casserole, place it on top of the leeks, if not, tip the leeks and cider into a large roasting pan and place the lamb on top.
Drizzle the lamb with honey and the cover the whole lot with a lid or tin foil.
Slow-cook in the oven for around 2 hours 45 minutes. Make sure to check on it after an hour and add a splash of water if the cider has evaporated. Remove the lid/foil for the final 20 minutes.
When cooked, transfer the lamb from the dish and leave to rest for 10 minutes before carving into inch-thick rounds.
Allow the oil and fat to separate from the juices. Discard the fat and spoon the juices over the meat before serving with mash and roasted root veg.
This is great the next day cut thinly in sandwiches with mint sauce or drizzled with fresh salsa verde.
Don’t forget to tag any photos with #mywelshkitchen if you decide to give it a go.
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.
First up this week is a number by the magnificent Tessie O’Shea. Born in Riverside in Cardiff, this Tony Award winner was an expert banjolele player and a frequent headliner at London music halls and across the globe. Tessie was first billed as “The Welsh Wonder” but later adopted the name “Two Ton Tessie”, which also became her theme song. Many might recognise her as Mrs Hobday from Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
Second up this week we have the gorgeous tones of Bangor-born Grammy and Brit Award-winning singer, Duffy, with one of her lesser-played tunes.
Two Ton Tessie by Tessie O’Shea
Syrup & Honey by Duffy
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.
Tregroes Waffles
These adapted versions of the Dutch stroopwafel have been made in the Teifi Valley, West Wales for nearly 40 years. The two thin, crisp, golden waffles sandwiched together with butter toffee are oh-so good when first balanced on top of a hot cuppa to allow the toffee to melt before taking a bite. And it’s not just toffee waffles – since 2016 the family-run company has been making waffley crackers – perfect for cheese.