[ Home ] [ Up ]

Cinio Ardderchog o Gig Oen Cymru Mewn Crwst!

Fabulous Welsh Lamb En Croûte Dinner!

By

Ken Thorne, Ninnau Food Editor

 Why are we so addicted to savory pies? What causes this insatiable yearning for pastry wrapped food? Just sample a Welsh home cooked pasty, a savory chicken and leek, pork or beef pie and you are in danger of been hooked! The pie craving never leaves you. As children, were we weaned off milk then started on a pie diet? I am suspicious of my mother!

To tell the truth, on school days walking past two bakeries and three butcher shops twice was a wrenching test of willpower. As if compelled, you had to squeeze your nose against a shop window for a better look at all the baked wonders! The aroma of baking lasts a lifetime, totally enveloping all the senses of your body! No wonder modern day bakeries purposely vent into the interiors of supermarkets! Am I reliving smell, look and taste of that fresh beautiful crusty Welsh bread? You bet! Where is the Cawl?

Returning home to Wales ? We are a dead giveaway! As if driven uncontrollably, we stop at a bakery and butcher shop. The twinkle in our eye, the flame in our soul signals the proprietor, there’s an expatriate Cymro (Welshman) or Cymraes (Welshwoman) arriving for a fill of comfort food!

 Take the ultimate step in pie creation! The familiar Beef Wellington is simply a beef tenderloin fillet wrapped in puff pastry (En Croûte). Why is the lamb version using essentially the same cut of meat almost unknown? For the lamb lover, there is no excuse! Take the tenderest cut of lamb (loin), coat with a savory pâté and wrap in beautiful puff pastry then bake for a fine dining par excellence! Serve it with favorite vegetables to create a lasting family tradition!

Prepared for eons, puff pastry wrapped servings of meat or fish have gained a renewed popularity. En Croûte dishes are delicious and exciting. Serve a decorated Lamb En Croûte at home for quite a stir! Create beautiful decorations easily!

Last year, Phil and Dorothy Thomas of Chardon , Ohio were present at the first Cleveland St David’s Day Dinner to offer a Modern Welsh Cooking Style experience. Attending this year, they both said, “The dinner was really great and it was wonderful to taste this tender cut of lamb done such different ways. Last year’s roast saddle was delicious and this year Lamb En Croûte was wonderful.”  

Also enjoying this year’s dinner were Bruce and Berit Landeg.  American born, Bruce can trace his ancestry back to the Welsh Princes. Berit born and raised in Norway said, “We ate similar foods to the Welsh except parsnips were new to me. Now I love to prepare roasted parsnips, it really brings out their sweetness. Brought up on lamb, I thought it was excellent. Presented En Croûte, it was elegant and tasty with a nice blending of the lamb, the herbal Duxelle and pastry flavors.” Note: Duxelle: a mushroom, onion and spinach pâté used to coat the lamb before wrapping in pastry. Easy to make – see recipe.

Willowick , Ohio resident and retired police officer, Glyndwr Davies eating lamb for his first time said, “I thought the pastry wrapped lamb was very, very good. My wife, Carol commented that I cleaned my plate completely; something I never do!” Served with the lamb were a garlic roast potato carved to resemble Mt. Snowdon and peas flavored with leeks and smoky bacon!

In use for centuries by all social classes, the En Croûte technique protected the meat or fish ensuring a moist and tender result. Subjected to very uneven cooking temperatures in primitive ovens or even on top of the coals, the pastry often didn’t look very attractive! It wasn’t edible! Consequently, a coarse pastry resembling a salt crust made from flour, salt and water could have been the type used. It forms a very tough non-edible protective coating.

Colin Pressdee uses such a coarse pastry recipe for the slow cooking of a minted leg of lamb in his book Welsh Coastal Cookery. I have prepared this dish; it is very good but throw away the pastry!

The Welsh upper classes baked their meats in pastry using large wood-fired brick ovens. Edible pastry or not, a great fanfares resulted when the dish arrived at the banquet table. The pastry, highly decorated and baked to perfection stimulated the Welsh royal taste buds! Attractive pastry decorations can be leaves, stars or animals.

Fish such as a salmon cooked En Croûte can also be very impressive, especially if the finished pastry resembles a fish.

St David’s Day 2003 - what a fitting way to celebrate our Welsh heritage; a little song or two, a little Welsh food, good company, good conversation, a little pastry wrapped lamb with fanfare!

Historical note: The ancient Greeks made puff pastry. The ancient Celts grew prolific quantities of wheat so it is more than likely they were also familiar with puff pastry. Seemingly lost in the Middle Ages, French chefs of the 17^th Century brought it back into vogue. It took quite a while later to become popular again in the British Isles in spite of their great love of pastries.

Footnote: Want a crazy pie story? Visiting Niagara on the Lake , Canada , the place for lunch is the Oban Inn – a cozy pub with Scottish décor. They served Steak and Kidney Pie, always! Then last year they stopped. A visit in October 2002 found no pie available - off the menu! Asking for the chef was like pulling out teeth. Too embarrassed! Apparently, he had switched to Steak and Ale Pie because the Steak and Kidney Pie stopped selling well. However, the Ale Pie didn’t sell either! I passed on a message that many people visit the Oban for the steak pie. Suggested he offer a Steak, Mushroom and Ale Pie. Success! A friend visited in March 2003, ordered the Steak, Mushroom and Ale – delicious, twice the serving wouldn’t have been enough!