Cardiff is a very international city and this fact brings one big and actually my favourite advantage - loads of international and delicious food. And Welsh people love food, that is very obvious as they organise different markets, food festivals and actually this weekend there is going to be the Street Food Circus, an event full of international food, cooked directly in front of you from all different parts of world.
However, we are not going to talk about this type of food, but about one specific type of food that makes the Welsh people as proud as their rugby team - Welsh National Food.
Apart from National Parks, an unusual language and very kind people, Wales has its own traditional food wonders as well.
Welsh cooking was born as the main meal that Welsh fishermen, farmers, coal miners and labourers had on a daily basis. Their hard work on a daily basis needed to be sustained with satisfying food. That’s why there is plenty of meat or fish in Welsh cuisine.
Of course you will never find a dish made from the ingredients that can’t be find in this part of the UK, but you can easily find lamb, salmon, brown trout, white crab, lobsters and cockles. Talking about veggies, leak is probably the most common one but don’t cringe if a Welshman tells you he enjoys eating seaweed (which can be found in the laver bread).
As a part of the United Kingdom, when it comes to tea, Wales has its part with locally very popular and different kinds of sweet breads and cakes. Still not hungry? Maybe you’re waiting for the dessert.
Forget haute patisserie, little welsh cakes are the best if you want something easy and delicious.
Starting from savoury traditional dishes, the traditional Welsh Cawl needs to be mentioned. It is a stew made mainly with slow cooked lamb and leak, but ingredients may vary depending on the area of Wales you are in.
It is considered as the national dish of Wales, and it influenced even English language. For example, the Welsh idiom gwneud cawl (= make a cawl of something) means to mess something up.
As a main course dish, there’s the Welsh Rarebit. It sounds complicated, but it’s not. Basically it is melted cheese poured on sliced toasted bread. Even with this recipe there could be some variations, especially about the melted cheese which could be replaced with a different savoury sauce, but always served hot.
The word ‘rarebit’ is a corruption of the English term ‘rabbit’ and currently recognized as a proper translation to that in the national language of Wales.
If you are looking for kind of a vegetarian solution, you would appreciate the Glamorgan Sausages. They are mainly made with leeks, cheese and breadcrumbs and then fried and usually served with other vegetables. But if you can’t renounce to meat, there’s a non-vegetarian version of this traditional food, prepared with pork added to the other ingredients.
As mentioned before, Laver bread (or bara lafwr in Welsh) is another unusual traditional dish. The seaweed in it needs to be boiled for several hours, until it becomes gelatinous. Then it can be eaten like that or rolled in oatmeal. Traditionally, Welshmen fry the laver bread with bacon and cockles, in order to make their own traditional variant of the British breakfast.
Tea time food has always been the best solution as a digestive for the main meal, and you really need that after having Welsh food! Luckily, there are many options for this time of the day. Bara Brith, for example, has unfortunately lost his popularity among all the other traditional dishes despite his nice and soft taste.
Thanks to a generous amount of yeast, it’s a very soft and not much sweet bread, enriched with some fruit (usually dried, like raisins) and spices. Welsh people usually eat it warm and sliced, with some salted butter spread on.
However if you are passionate about pancakes, the Welsh Crempog could probably be your favourite Welsh dessert. The difference between Welsh pancakes and other worldwide pancakes is in the ingredients (and in the final texture as well!). Main ingredients are flour, buttermilk, eggs, vinegar and salted butter. They are also known as ffroes, pancos and cramoth and are normally served piled into a stack and spread with butter. They are traditionally served at celebrations, such as Shrove Tuesday and birthdays.
Last but not least, Welsh Cakes are the most famous scones in this area of the UK. They require a really simple preparation with few ingredients, such as flour, butter, caster sugar and raisins (or currants). You can enjoy them either hot or cold, maybe with some jam or butter on them.
However, we are not going to talk about this type of food, but about one specific type of food that makes the Welsh people as proud as their rugby team - Welsh National Food.
Apart from National Parks, an unusual language and very kind people, Wales has its own traditional food wonders as well.
Welsh cooking was born as the main meal that Welsh fishermen, farmers, coal miners and labourers had on a daily basis. Their hard work on a daily basis needed to be sustained with satisfying food. That’s why there is plenty of meat or fish in Welsh cuisine.
Of course you will never find a dish made from the ingredients that can’t be find in this part of the UK, but you can easily find lamb, salmon, brown trout, white crab, lobsters and cockles. Talking about veggies, leak is probably the most common one but don’t cringe if a Welshman tells you he enjoys eating seaweed (which can be found in the laver bread).
As a part of the United Kingdom, when it comes to tea, Wales has its part with locally very popular and different kinds of sweet breads and cakes. Still not hungry? Maybe you’re waiting for the dessert.
Forget haute patisserie, little welsh cakes are the best if you want something easy and delicious.
It is considered as the national dish of Wales, and it influenced even English language. For example, the Welsh idiom gwneud cawl (= make a cawl of something) means to mess something up.
The word ‘rarebit’ is a corruption of the English term ‘rabbit’ and currently recognized as a proper translation to that in the national language of Wales.
If you are looking for kind of a vegetarian solution, you would appreciate the Glamorgan Sausages. They are mainly made with leeks, cheese and breadcrumbs and then fried and usually served with other vegetables. But if you can’t renounce to meat, there’s a non-vegetarian version of this traditional food, prepared with pork added to the other ingredients.
As mentioned before, Laver bread (or bara lafwr in Welsh) is another unusual traditional dish. The seaweed in it needs to be boiled for several hours, until it becomes gelatinous. Then it can be eaten like that or rolled in oatmeal. Traditionally, Welshmen fry the laver bread with bacon and cockles, in order to make their own traditional variant of the British breakfast.
Tea time food has always been the best solution as a digestive for the main meal, and you really need that after having Welsh food! Luckily, there are many options for this time of the day. Bara Brith, for example, has unfortunately lost his popularity among all the other traditional dishes despite his nice and soft taste.
Thanks to a generous amount of yeast, it’s a very soft and not much sweet bread, enriched with some fruit (usually dried, like raisins) and spices. Welsh people usually eat it warm and sliced, with some salted butter spread on.
However if you are passionate about pancakes, the Welsh Crempog could probably be your favourite Welsh dessert. The difference between Welsh pancakes and other worldwide pancakes is in the ingredients (and in the final texture as well!). Main ingredients are flour, buttermilk, eggs, vinegar and salted butter. They are also known as ffroes, pancos and cramoth and are normally served piled into a stack and spread with butter. They are traditionally served at celebrations, such as Shrove Tuesday and birthdays.
Last but not least, Welsh Cakes are the most famous scones in this area of the UK. They require a really simple preparation with few ingredients, such as flour, butter, caster sugar and raisins (or currants). You can enjoy them either hot or cold, maybe with some jam or butter on them.
Enjoy your meal!
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