Cawl is Wales’ gift to the world of thrifty, slow-cooked broths and, like all great peasant dishes, it’s seasonal, versatile and immensely practical. A few years ago, Food & Drink Wales invited me to create two food sustainability toolkits, one for hospitality and one for the public, with both celebrating Welsh produce and recipes. This led me to explore Wales’ national dishes and discover cawl (or lobscows, the northern Welsh name for the dish) properly for the first time. Inspired by Welsh culinary legends Dudley Newbery and Tomos Parry’s recipes, it’s the perfect way to turn lamb leftovers, or even just a bone, into a hearty meal.
Welsh cawl with leftover lamb
The magic of cawl lies in its sheer simplicity. Lamb bones, a little meat, a leek, an onion and a few root vegetables combine to create a seriously thrifty yet hearty stew. If you’re planning ahead, you could make it with lamb neck chops or, if you’re planning a lamb roast, it’s worth buying a bigger joint knowing you’ll save the bone(s) and any meat still clinging to them for this dish. Even the bone alone will give you extraordinary flavour, while any remaining meat is a wonderful bonus.
Like all stews, cawl tastes even better the next day, when the flavours have had time to marry. So, if you’re making a roast, after the meal, get that bone straight into a pot to start the cooking process, ready to finish as and when you need it. Use any fat or drippings from your lamb roast, too, because they’ll add heaps of flavour.
Serves 6
1 large lamb bone, raw from the butcher or from cooked roast lamb, including any meat, gravy, scrapings or fat, or 500g lamb neck sliced on the bone
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
800g large potatoes, diced
900g root vegetables (any combination of carrots, swede, parsnips or turnip), trimmed and diced
3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 bay leaf (optional)
3 sprigs fresh parsley, finely chopped, leaves and stalks kept separate
400g leeks, trimmed, washed, drained and thickly sliced
200g frozen peas (optional)
Place the lamb bone and any meat from it (or 500g raw lamb neck chops), in a large pan, add 1.8 litres cold water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low, then cover and leave to simmer gently for at least an hour and a half. (Alternatively, cook the lamb bone in a slow cooker and double the cooking time.)
Lift out the bone, pull off any meat and return it to the broth, then add the chopped onion, the diced potatoes and root vegetables and the thyme (or bay leaf), if using. Add the chopped parsley stalks (save the leaves for later), return to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables arealmost tender. Add the sliced leeks, cook for another 10 minutes, then season generously to taste. Add the peas, if using, bring back to a boil and cook for a final three minutes. Stir in the reserved chopped parsley leaves and serve.