Welsh Rarebit a traditional Welsh Food can be as simple as Cheese on Toast but over the centuries has had many variants.
Its origin is not really clear and could derive from the 14th Century dish Caws Pobi but the English used the term Welsh Rabbit as a jocular term from 1725, later the recognised spelling was documented as Welsh Rarebit in 1781.
There is no definitive recipe for Welsh Rarebit with variances from plain cheese on toast to soaking the bread in red wine to start.
Regular additions are mashed potato, beer, mustard, cayenne pepper, paprika or Worcestershire Sauce.
In addition if one adds a fried egg on top then it is often called Buck Rarebit.
Wikipedia comments:
“Eighteenth-century English cookbooks reveal that it was then considered to be a luscious supper or tavern dish, based on the fine cheddar-type cheeses and the wheat bread. Surprisingly, it seems there was not only a Welsh Rabbit, but also an English Rabbit, an Irish and a Scotch Rabbit, but nary a rarebit.”
This recipe goes completely off piste making a humble traditional Welsh Food into a somewhat decadent brunch or super recipe courtesy of South Caernarfon Creameries and their Dragon Cheese brand.
Ingredients
- 225g Dragon Vintage Cheddar, grated
- 1tbsp Dragon Welsh Salted butter
- 2tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1tsp mustard powder
- 2tsps plain flour
- Pepper
- 4tbsp Welsh dark beer
- 4 slices tiger bread, toasted on 1 side
- 4 rashers bacon
- 2 eggs, fried
Method
- In a saucepan put the cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, flour and pepper.
- Mix well and then add the dark beer (milk can be used instead) to moisten.
- Over a gentle heat, stir the mixture until all the ingredients have melted into a thickish paste. Leave the mixture to cool a little.
- Meanwhile toast the bread on one side, grill the bacon slices and fry the eggs and set to one side.
- Take the rarebit mixture and spread over the untoasted side of bread.
- Brown the slices under a hot grill.
Assemble the slices with bacon, finishing with a fried egg on top.
