Welsh Blankets
Cawl - What is Cawl?
Cawl Welsh Meal
Cawl, or Welsh cawl is a Welsh word, also known as ‘lobscows’ in north Wales, and is recognised as a Welsh National dish. It is used to describe a hearty stew of meat and vegetables - the nearest English translation of the word is a soup or a broth. However, cawl is a meal rather than a soup. When accompanied by freshly made bread and Caerphilly cheese, it is a definitely a meal and not a just a ‘starter’! Truly magnificent on cold wet days.
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Cawl - Welsh National Dish
As a national dish, cawl has been in existence for many hundreds of years. Recipes have been handed down from generation to generation and this has naturally led to variations in the recipes throughout Wales. It is often said that there are as many varieties of cawl as there are households where it was cooked.
Cawl was traditionally eaten during the winter months. Today it describes a dish dish containing lamb and leeks but historically it was made with either salted bacon or beef, along with swedes, carrots and other seasonal vegetables. With the introduction of potatoes into the European diet in the latter half of the 16th century, this too would become a core ingredient in the recipe.
A Traditional Cawl Recipe
As explained above, there are a multitude of different cawl recipes. But here is a traditional version, using lamb, bacon/ham and suede to try...
Ingredients
- 1 kg middle neck or shoulder Welsh lamb
- 0.5 kg of ham
- Vegetables
- 1 onion
- 2 leeks
- 1 small suede
- 3 carrots
- 6 potatoes
- Vegetable stock, salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Place the meat in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2-3 hours over a low heat. Leave overnight to cool and the following day skim off any fat that has risen to the surface.
- Cut the meat off the bone and return to the stock then add the potatoes, onions, carrots and swede and simmer until cooked. Add more vegetable stock if required at this point. Season with salt and pepper.
- Finally add the shredded leeks and just before serving throw in the roughly chopped parsley.
It is often better to use a cheaper cut of meat on the bone so that maximum flavour is obtained.
Lastly, make sure you have some freshly made or bought crusty bread and Caerphilly cheese - together this will make a fantastic, hearty and healthy winter meal.
Another meaning of the word Cawl
It is also used in everyday Welsh language when describing making a mess of anything. So, the phrase “gwneud cawl (or cawlach) o bethau" means to make a mess of something. This mess can mean a physical mess of something, but it is also used, for example in sport, top describe a situation when a player has messed something up!
How to pronounce Cawl
Cawl is pronounced in a similar way to the English word "cowl" as in a chimney cowl or as in wolf "howl". It is also similar to the English “ow” as in expressing a sudden pain, as in “ow, that hurts”!
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Last updated 18th March 2024
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