I thought I'd interject this in the middle of all my apple and pumpkin recipes. After all, we do need to eat something for lunch and supper! I seem to be over-laden with dessert-type recipes this fall. I'll try to do better after Christmas.
Every generation has a recipe for Welsh Rarebit; my mother did and I made it for my kids too...the whole trick is using a really fine cheddar. My favorite was made with cheddar, flour, butter, dry mustard, dark beer, Worcestershire and cayenne. And we always ate our rarebit with my great Aunt Irene's homemade chili sauce. OMG, it was divine. I have her recipe, but never have made it. It was an all day event. She used to have two women friends in to share the work and they'd make a HUGE amount and split the results. Totally impressive assembly line.
Anyway, The Two Fat Ladies made a rarebit on one of their shows (makes sense, as it's a traditional British dish) and I remember the egg addition and how it puffed up a bit, but if you've seen their shows, you know their recipes are always a little vague. And I never bought their cookbooks.
Then I saw Jamie Oliver make his rarebit with spicy chutney; it puffed up too and I thought it looked fabulous. I'll include lots of his directions. He's fun, isn't he? Frankly, I think it's one of the best football, late night or New Year's Eve snacks I know. You could use your own chili sauce, but this one was perfect and well worth the effort.
Welsh Rarebit
From Jamie at Home
Ingredients:
3 slices sourdough bread, 1-inch thick
5 1/2 ounces creme fraiche or 5 1/2 ounces sour cream, by weight
2 egg yolks
1 cup shredded Cheddar, Double Gloucester or other English cheese
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch kosher salt
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3 teaspoons chili pepper jam
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Method:
Toast both sides of bread under broiler until lightly browned.
Stir together remaining ingredients except chili pepper jam and Worcestershire sauce.
Spread 1 tablespoon, or to taste, chili jam (recipe follows) on each slice of bread. Divide cheese mixture evenly between slices and spread to edges. Return to broiler until top is brown and bubbly, 2-3 minutes.
Crisscross the top of each slice with the edge of a knife, just to cut through the crispy cheese. Sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce and serve.Jamie's Cheeky Chili Pepper Chutney
From Jamie at Home
Ingredients:
8-10 fresh red chillies
8 ripe red peppers
olive oil
2 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
a sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
2 fresh bay leaves
a 5cm piece of cinnamon stick
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g brown sugar
150ml balsamic vinegar
Method:
If you want your chutney to last for a while, make sure you have some small sterilized jars ready to go.
Place your chillies and peppers over a hot barbecue, in a griddle pan or on a tray under a hot grill, turning them now and then until blackened and blistered all over. Carefully lift the hot peppers and chillies into a bowl (the smaller chillies won’t take as long as the peppers so remove them first) and cover tightly with clingfilm. As they cool down, they’ll cook gently in their own steam. By the time they’re cool enough to handle, you’ll be able to peel the skin off easily.
When you’ve got rid of most of the skin, trimmed off the stalks and scooped out the seeds, you’ll be left with a pile of nice tasty peppers and chillies. Finely chop by hand or put in a food processor and whiz up. Then put to one side.
Heat a saucepan and pour in a splash of olive oil. Add the onions, rosemary, bay leaves and cinnamon and season with a little salt and pepper. Cook very slowly for about 20 minutes or so, until the onions become rich, golden and sticky.
Add the chopped peppers and chillies, the sugar and the vinegar to the onions and keep cooking. When the liquid reduces and you’re left with a lovely thick sticky chutney, season well to taste. Remove the cinnamon stick and the bay leaves. Either spoon into the sterilized jars and put them in a cool dark place, or keep in the fridge and use right away. In sterilized jars, the chutney should keep for a couple of months.
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