Recipes for a Welsh Christmas Breakfast - Lavender and Lovage (2024)

Recipes for a Welsh Christmas Breakfast: Three fabulous recipes for Christmasmorning using unique Welsh Produce with provenance from the Discover DeliciousWales.Discover Delicious is home to the very best artisan food and drink lovingly made in Wales and delivered direct to your door. From cheese makersto chocolatiers, butchers to brewers, you can explore hundreds of handmade, handcrafted products and gift experiences on their website.

“I’m sitting on a wooden stool by a Waterford Stanley Range, in the kitchen of an old Welsh schoolhouse. Life in South West France is a distant but fond memory, as are all of the other places I’ve lived. It’s early morning and I’m hugging a large mug of tea in the middle of winter, just a few weeks before Christmas, whilst warming my toes on the range. There is a new chapter starting in my life, with a new kitchen to make my own. My new home is an old school set amongst the rolling hills and valleys in beautiful North Wales, at the head of the Llyn Peninsula. Just outside the Snowdonia National Park, the schoolhouse dates back to 1858, and it only stopped being the local school in 1968, so there is still the echo of laughter and boots skipping over the original Parquet floors. The kitchen, where I am sitting making a list for festive food, was the original school kitchen. I can almost see and smell the steaming pies, puddings and stews (called cawl in Wales) that were cooked and served here all those years ago”

The excerpt above is from the introduction in my new book, and epitomises exactly how I feel about where I live and the food I now cook.I feel blessed to be surrounded by verdant green fields where sheep graze, and which is the source of the world-famous Welsh Lamb. I am only a few minutes way from the coast here in North Wales too, so mussels, oysters and all manner of freshly caught seafood and fish are available to me. Wales is a country that bristles with fine food, and drink too; there is a fabulous array of locally made cheeses to choose from, as well as sea salt, seaweed products, pork, beef, vegetables, chocolates and even liqueurs, gin and whisky. From the Brecon Beacons and valleys of South and mid Wales to Anglesey and the mountains of North Wales, this beautiful part of Britain has a wealth of locally produced and hand-made ingredients on offer. And, you don’t have to live IN Wales to enjoy Welsh produce, as all of these things (and more) can be purchased in one place at Discover Delicious, which is dedicated to offeringauthentic, local and sustainable delights that are reared, grown and crafted in Wales.

And so it is with great pleasure that I cantell you that I have collaborated with Discover Delicious, using all Welsh produce, to create and develop three festive recipes for aWelsh Christmas Breakfast. Using some wonderful produce and ingredients that were all ordered from the website, I came up with a stress-free and delicious Christmas breakfast menu that will suit vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, and with a rather special festive co*cktail. My three Welsh breakfast recipes are:

Twice Baked Welsh Cheese & Welshman’s Caviar Soufflés

One Tray Welsh Breakfast with Scrambled Eggs

Sparkling Mead & Damson co*cktail

And, to help you out, I have embedded a video in this post, where you can see me preparing ad making all of these recipes in my kitchen in North Wales.I’m even wearing a Christmas Jumper! I used the following Welsh ingredients and condiments in all of my recipes:

Twice Baked Welsh Cheese & Welshman’s Caviar Soufflés

Welshman’s Caviar

Halen Môn Oak Smoked Water

Halen Môn Roasted Garlic Sea Salt

Pant Mawr Drewi Sant cheese

One Tray Welsh Breakfast with Scrambled Eggs

Rhosyn Farm Breakfast Hamper for Four

Seasoned with Halen Môn Roasted Garlic Sea Salt

Served with Halen Môn Bloody Mary Ketchup

Sparkling Mead & Damson co*cktail

Celteg Damson Liqueur

Celteg Celebration Sparkling Mead

The producers of all of these amazing Welsh ingredients work hard all yeararound, and so here’s some background information about them all, where they are based and what they all do:

Rhosyn Farm: On their 100-acre woodland farm in Carmarthenshire, Emma and Neil Rose are proud producers of sheep, goats and native breed pigs. With the freedom to roam and play around in the woods or graze on the natural goodness that their land has to offer in abundance, it’s apparent that these are very happy animals. This definitely contributes to the tasty sausages and meats that they make.

Halen Mon: Halen Môn sea salt is sourced from the exceptionally clean waters surrounding the island of Anglesey. We’ve come a long way since the first batch was born atop our Aga in 1997, and Halen Môn is now sold and served in some of the most famous restaurants and food emporiums around the world. NB: Read all about my visit here:A Visit to Halen Môn Sea Salt PDO on Anglesey

Pembrokeshire Beach Company’s Welshman’s Caviar: Actor Richard Burton coined the phrase ‘Welshman’s Caviar’ to describe the Welsh delicacy laverbread. Unlike laverbread we dry our hand-picked laver sea weed so you can sprinkle it onto your scrambled eggs and into your bacon sandwich any time with ease to get the same great taste. Welshman’s Caviar was awarded a Great Taste star in 2014 and 2016. It is produced by the Pembrokeshire Beach Company – originally, The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company was a street food outlet, touring the country serving up seafood with a twist. Now with just one outlet situated at Freshwater West through the summer, we have tuned our efforts towards making food products from wild harvested seaweed from the Pembrokeshire coast.

Pant Mawr’s Drewi Sant cheese: In the foothills of the Preseli mountains you’ll see ‘cheese’ in trees. Literally. You can’t miss the Jennings’ family farm, as from miles away you can spot the word ‘Caws’, which is Welsh for cheese, written in trees planted on the side of a hill. And on that hill, you’ll find David, Cynthia and Jason crafting their range of delicious cows’ milk cheeses. They’ve been doing it since 1983 so they really know what they’re doing, we can vouch for that. They are a small family run business, based on our family farm in Pembrokeshire where they craft our delicious award-winning, artisan cheeses from locally sourced milk. All cheese is all handmade, hand cut and hand packaged, and each and every package is produced with the care and attention it deserves, which results in the most delicious selection of cheese Wales has to offer. Drewi Sant is a soft cheese, mildly tangy and fruity with a rich taste, glossy and straw coloured. Sprayed with mead, this is truly a unique cheese with a distinct flavour.

Celteg Wines: Nestled away in a quiet village in West Wales, the Shipp family specialise in crafting the finest Welsh fruit wines, liqueurs and preserves, to name but a few. Their family run business is steeped in tradition and it’s incredibly inspiring to see old family recipes being used to create unique and exciting produce. At Celtic Country Wines, we specialise in turning fruits and other delicious ingredients into little bottles of heaven. We source the best quality ingredients all year round, ingredients like fresh elderflowers that are abundant in the Welsh countryside enabling us to collect them right from our doorstep. As well as specialist fruit wines, liqueurs and vinegar we also produce our own range of jams, chutneys and marmalade. All of our delicious products are made at our family winery in West Wales which is also open to the public.

The recipes for these three dishes are shared below, as well as the video; and, DO pop back, as I am also offering a fabulous Giveaway with Discover Delicious……WIN a Michelin-starred chef masterclass courtesy of Discover Delicious.Wales……MORE about this very soon! But for now, I will leave you with the video below, as well as the three recipes for you to make on Christmas morning……and don’t forget, there is still time to order all of these delectable Welsh ingredients from Discover Delicious in time for Christmas. Nadolig Llawen!

*Disclaimer: Paid collaborative work with Discover Delicious Wales*

Twice Baked Welsh Cheese Soufflés

Makes 6

Ingredients:

Butter, for greasing ramekins

60g grated Grana Padano cheese

300ml milk

1 teaspoon Halen Mon Oak Smoked Water

1 onion, peeled and halved

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 heaped teaspoon Welshman’s Caviar, rubbed between the fingers

40g plain flour

¼ teaspoon English mustard powder

Pinch Cayenne Pepper

150g grated Pant Mawr’s Drewi Sant cheese +80g grated Pant Mawr’s Drewi Sant cheese for baking a second time

4 large free-range eggs, separated

200ml double cream

Method:

1. Generously butter 6 x 175 ml ramekins. Scatter the grated Grana Padano cheese in the buttered ramekins. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/ gas 4 and put a kettle on to boil. Heat the milk and smoked water in a saucepan with the onion and nutmeg until steaming. Remove and discard the onion. Add the Welshman’s Caviar.
2. Melt the butter in another pan, and then stir in the flour, mustard powder and cayenne. Bubble for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring all the time.
3. Add the infused milk bit by bit, stirring constantly until the mix is smooth and thick.
4. Remove the pan from the heat, then leave to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Mix in the grated cheese and the egg yolks. Season well.
5. Put the egg whites in a clean, dry mixing bowl and, using a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer, whisk to medium peaks – the peaks should hold but the tips curl over when the whisk is lifted out. Fold into the cheese mixture: start with 2 tbsp to loosen the mix, and then fold in the rest in thirds, using a metal spoon or balloon whisk. Spoon into the ramekins, filling them two-thirds of the way up.
6. Stand the ramekins in a deep roasting tin. Carefully pour the water from the just-boiled kettle into the tin so it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Gently transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden and set but still with a slight wobble. Leave the soufflés to cool.
7. Once the soufflés are cool, run a knife around the edges to loosen, then tip them upside down on to the flat palm of your hand (give the ramekins a good shake to release if needed). Put the soufflés upside-down on a baking tray, and then chill.
8. Half an hour before you want to eat, heat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7 and take the soufflés out of the fridge to let them come back to room temperature. Pour the cream over the soufflés to cover. Sprinkle over the extra grated cheese. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to crisp. Serve straight from the oven so the soufflés don’t sink.

One Tray Welsh Breakfast with Scrambled Eggs

Serves 4

Ingredients:

8 rashers dry-cure bacon (Rhosyn Farm)

8 pork sausages(Rhosyn Farm)

8 black pudding slices(Rhosyn Farm)

12 cherry tomatoes

1 teaspoon Rapeseed oil

6 large free-range eggs, (Rhosyn Farm) beaten with:

2 tablespoons single cream

1 teaspoon Halen Mon Oak Smoked Water

1 heaped teaspoon Welshman’s Caviar, rubbed between the fingers

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Butter

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Grease a large baking tray with the oil and add the bacon, sausages and tomatoes. Turn them over in the oil to cover them.
2. Put the tray into the oven and bake them for 10 minutes, turning the sausages over half way through cooking.
3. Add the black pudding slices and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes or until bacon is cooked and crisp and the sausages are browned. Arrange the bacon, sausages, tomatoes and black pudding on a warmed plate with the scrambled eggs.
4. Just before the oven breakfast is due to come out of the oven, make the scrambled eggs; beat the eggs, cream, smoked water, Welshman’s caviar and pepper in medium bowl until blended.
5. Heat the butter in large non-stick pan over medium heat until hot. Pour in the egg mixture. As eggs begin to set, gently pull the eggs across the pan with a spatula, forming large soft curds.
6. Continue cooking – pulling, lifting and folding the eggs until thickened and no visible liquid egg remains. Remove from heat and serve immediately with the cooked breakfast above.

Sparkling Mead & Damson co*cktail

Ingredients:

Celteg Wines Damson Liqueur

Celteg Wines Sparkling Mead

Method:

1. Pour 30 ml of damson liqueur into a large co*cktail or wine glass and top up with sparkling mead.