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Savory Steamed Leek Pudding – A Saintly, Comfort Food?

By Ken Thorne, Food Editor, Ninnau

When one reads of St David, leeks, bread and water spring to mind. His period was the sixth century, his diet was sparse and it is said he lived mostly on bread and water but without eating some fruits or vegetables he would undoubtedly have had a bad case of scurvy. He may or may not have eaten leeks for his veggies but he was certainly fully aware of their abundance in Wales . His idea that the Welsh warriors battling the Saxons sport a leek in their hats for identity is well known. Ever since, the leek has been a strong symbol of the Welsh nationality. Daffodils as a national symbol came much later and were rumored to have been promoted by Saxons as a much less combative icon. Certainly, it has been favored by our Welsh fairer sex. Still the leek prevailed; modern day St David’s Day is celebrated with the two icons – a beautiful spring flower and a healthful edible.

            St David would not have had on his list of favorite dishes this month’s recipe, “Steamed Leek Puddings” but I imagine he wish he had! It is a superb recipe tweaked for today’s tastes by its creator, Executive Chef Gareth Johns of Wynnstay Hotel in Machynlleth. One spice ingredient, paprika would not have been available in the Middle Ages. Made from ground bell peppers, its origin was in the Americas only coming to Europe in the 16^th Century. Ginger, Asian in origin, was in use in Europe at the same as St David but generally used only by people of substantial means. Adapt the recipe to your individual palate with alternate spices and / or herbs if you wish, but try it, it’s so good!

            I first came across this recipe in “A Taste of Wales” by Gilli Davies, a fine book of Welsh food stories and recipes. Unfortunately, that book is now out of print but not to worry, Gilli has included it in a new book of a collection of Welsh traditional and modernized “with-it” recipes. Her new book is titled “Welsh Calendar Cookbook” and published late last year by Y Lolfa – see recipe box for details. No photography or stories are included but priced very competitively it is a much better value than some of the small recipe books that have flooded the market for years and……. we all have bought.

            Chef Gareth Johns featured this recipe when he was working at his parents’ pub, The Red Lion at Llanfihangel-Nant-Melan, New Radnor, Powys. The Steamed Leek Pudding was used as an accompaniment with Minted New Potatoes, and Mashed Carrots to Gareth’s award winning Radnorshire Lamb Rump Roast. Gareth still loves to prepare this favorite dish to lucky diners. I have enjoyed the local free range lamb he prepares. Cooked as ordered, the lamb was succulent, tender and one can detect the subtle flavors of the mountainside’s collections of grasses and herbs eaten by the grazing animal. Besides running the kitchen at The Wynnstay, Gareth is a celebrity chef who travels the world as a food consultant, teacher and cooking demonstrator. Wynnstay owners, Charles and Sheila Dark share in the passion for a great hospitality experience and have willingly spent considerable time and money restoring the old coaching inn. Not surprisingly with the Darks’ deep knowledge of wines, the restaurant was given “The Best Wine List” award in 2005.  (www.wynnstay-hotel.com).

            Having spent most of my adult life in North America and in Ohio , in particular where leeks are very much under utilized, it has been a heart warming experience to rediscover it as a key ingredient in many comfort dishes. As a child, how much fun we had with leeks, particularly on St David’s day was made evident on a recent trip home to my birthplace of Skewen when chatting over coffee with some of my very dear old pals from the upper Skewen neighborhood of Lucy Road and Siding Terrace. We met at Cresci’s Café. I must digress for a moment.

Cresci’s has been a village institution and gathering place since 1920 where most villagers enjoyed their first experience of delicious Espresso Coffee. Kudos also to Cresci’s for their Ice Cream which is based on a wonderful Welsh recipe from the late 1800s. “My grandfather was a poor Italian sharecropper.” said present owner, John Cresci. He continued, “Moving to Wales was all about economics. My grandfather came to Wales 1897 to find work in the coal mines. He settled in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and found the café business more to his liking. He developed his smooth and creamy recipe and with a market that was under exploited he enjoyed a prosperous business.” The three sons, as young men were encouraged to start their own cafés. Skewen was chosen as one of the suitable new business sites – the short end of the straw as was thought at the time. But fortune was kind to the Skewen Cresci family. Construction began, not long after they opened their shop in 1920, on a new oil refinery located three miles away. This bit of luck would guarantee prosperity for both Skewen and the Cresci family. They still make the ice cream from the original recipe - taste it and you’ll agree it’s one of the best.

 Returning to our story; the old pals were Peter Hearn, Ieuan Hughes and David Massey who had no trouble fondly remembering events stretching back more than fifty years! We chatted for hours and even later on the telephone recalling events. Recalling some St David’s Days, Peter said, “You always wore a white shirt with a red tie and a leek on your jacket to our schools – Coedffranc Elementary and Middle. Boys wore leeks, girls wore daffodils. Danny (Owen) the Fruit always had the best leeks. His shop was pretty much on the way to school and he practically gave leeks away on St David’s Day. Danny had one of the best businesses in the village, always had the freshest of produce. Villagers stopped and stared when he hand painted his specials of the day. Nobody had finer script than Danny, fair play (chwarae teg).”

Peter is one of the fastest talkers in Wales , always has been. Excited with recalling memories, bringing back many for the first time in years, his words came out faster than machine gun bullets. At one point, Peter began to gesture and it appeared for a moment that Peter might burst into song but apparently, it was musical memories that were filling his head. “It was the singing of Welsh songs I remember most,” he said, “learnt by rote they were, by most of us. We would sing and have a little eisteddfod in the morning and then have the afternoon off. Sometimes, we marched down to Gorffwysfa Capel to join other area elementary schools. It was a big chapel and had the best acoustics. Fashions have changed today. The girls still dress in the traditional Welsh costume but the boys now wear fancy sports attire - Welsh International Rugby shirts and believe it or not, Dai Caps.” Dai caps are best described as perhaps a tam with a peak. (Dai is the Welsh equivalent for Dave.)

I remember Gorffwysfa. It was an amazing experience. Rows and rows of five to ten year olds singing their hearts out; I am sure they all felt their next step would be the stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The Royal Albert was famous for putting on an Annual St David’s Day Concert at which choirs from all over Wales performed - a concert of a thousand voices.

Another of the pals, Dave Massey spoke up, “As a youngster I was always hungry it seems, although, even with the worst of stomach pangs I still wouldn’t eat a raw leek.” But many of us did eat raw leeks; perhaps, it was an early form of peer-pressure before the term was coined! And, wasn’t it fun to chase girls around the school yard at break-time with our leeky-smelling breath? Caught making a girl cry often warranted the stick from the headmaster. In pain, the boys would stick their tongues out and call the girls “cry-babies” among other things! Ironically, a lot of the boys would later end up marrying these “cry-babies.”

            Dave, recalling early childhood said, “Most of us growing up during the war years and even later never knew what fresh milk or eggs tasted like. Everything, it seemed at meal time, was a powder to be mixed with water and even the powders were rationed. I still completely clean my plate today as most of us do of our age. Not a good habit today but most of us can’t shake it due to the “waste not, want not” food scarcities of our early years.”  David lost his father early in the war and with eight kids in the family it was difficult. One day, it may have been St David’s, Dave came to our house and as usual, he was hungry…..believe me, we all were. My father had roasted a leg of lamb and with it Dave’s mouth was watering. About that day, he recently told me, “Your father made me the most delicious sandwich I have had in my life, I’ll never forget it. Salted beef drippings on the bread first - no butter in the pantry that day - then finished the sandwich with thin slices of warm tender Welsh lamb.” Talking more about family food, Dave said, “Often during the rationing period food was so scarce we all ate Mam’s Welsh Sop which was chunks of bread over which we poured hot milk made from powder before sprinkling on a (very) little sugar.”

            Here is the irony. In the 1940s, fourteen centuries on from the time of St David, we were back on a liquid bread diet and faced another Saxon invasion.

When you are next in Wales , eat leeks in one or more of its myriad ways. Nevertheless, wherever you are be sure to:

 Mwynhewch Eich Pwdinau Cennin– Enjoy Your Leek Puddings!

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Recipe

Steamed Leek Puddings

By

Executive Chef Gareth Johns, The Wynnstay Hotel, Machynlleth, Powys, Wales

Makes: Four Puddings – four to eight servings.

Ingredients:

4                                  leeks, good size                                    

2 slices                         bread, whole-wheat      

2                                  eggs    

4 oz/120 ml                  whipping cream

salt and pepper

pinch                            paprika

pinch                            ginger, fresh, grated

1 Tbsp                         parsley, chopped

 Method:

 Split the leeks lengthwise and wash well. Plunge them into a shallow pan of boiling water and simmer for a few minutes until soft. Rinse under a cold tap to retain the bright green color.

Using a combination of light and dark leaves, line four ramekins. Set aside the remaining leeks.

Process or blend the bread to make crumbs. Add the leeks, eggs and whipping cream and blend until you have a smooth, dropping consistency.

Add extra breadcrumbs if the mixture is too runny, or extra cream to soften. Season with paprika, ginger and parsley and place the mixture into the lined ramekins.

Fold over the excess leek leaves to make secure parcels and steam the ramekins or cook in a bain-marie for approximately 20 minutes until firm to the touch.

Recipe source: “Welsh Calendar Cookbook” by Gilli Davies. Published by Y Lolfa, 2005. £4.95. ( www.ylolfa.com )

 Copyright © 2006 Y Lolfa and Ken Thorne.

 Contact Ken Thorne by email