Sunday, October 08, 2006

Rabbit, rabbit

We've been making and eating Welsh Rabbit, also known as 
Welsh Rarebit*, but either way, it's glorified cheese on toast. 
Still, it is distinctive enough to qualify as a dish in its own right, 
and as it is difficult to make truly inedible, it responds well to 
experimentation.
Anyway, it must have gone down well, as I didn't have time to
take a photograph, so you'll just have to imagine something that
looks like grilled cheese, but with a slightly smoother texture
and beginning to brown.
I don't really have a recipe, but the general idea is to grate some
cheese (any of the British 'county' cheeses, possibly excepting
Lanarkshire) and mix in a little mustard flour/powder and some
beer or white wine.  Stir it all together (with salt, pepper and 
Worcester sauce to taste) and apply a thick layer to some lightly 
toasted bread and butter, then grill until the cheese mixture 
starts to acquire brown patches. Remove and serve.

*The term 'rarebit' seems to have been an attempt to divert
attention from the real origin of the name, dating from a time
when the Welsh were not so highly regarded. This from Wikipedia:
"In a society where most people could snare a rabbit for the
cooking pot, a Welshman was considered by some people so
hopelessly feckless that cheese melted with beer would have to
substitute." Ah well...

PS. Rabbit also means incessant chatter, hence the link at the top (which no longer works - sorry)

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