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I think it’s safe to say that I love English things. I have an English dog (hi Amelia), an English car (hi Mini Cooper), I love baking scones and drinking tea with a splash of milk in it and I love reading English literature. I also grew up watching English dramas on PBS, including most recently Downton Abbey.
Next month I’m headed to London with Grey Poupon to visit a few Downton Abbey locations, including Highclere Castle. Imagine forty exclamation points because I feel like that expresses my true excitement. I can’t wait to sip tea in the same rooms as Edith and Mary and Sybil. (I miss her!)
To kick things off, I’m sharing this recipe for Welsh Rarebit.
Now, when I first heard the name of this recipe I swore it had rabbit in it or something. I dunno! It’s confusing! Rarebit…rabbit. They sort of look alike.
If you don’t know what it is, Welsh Rarebit is basically a beer sauce that’s typically poured over a piece of toast. I love melted leeks so I added that to the bread for a bit of an onion flavor.
If you’re afraid it’s too rich, don’t be. The beer and Dijon mustard and Worcestershire all help balance out the cheese and milk. This recipe is the perfect balance of those varying flavors.
It takes about 10 minutes to prepare so please file this under “awesome snacks” category.
Welsh Rarebit with Melted Leeks
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 leeks, thinly sliced and washed thoroughly
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup ale or porter
- 1 teaspoon Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 dashes of Worcestershire
- 3/4 cup shredded Comte or Gruyere cheese
- 1 whole egg yolk
- Salt
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In a small saute pan, set over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the leeks and a few pinches of salt. Cook slowly, stirring regularly, until softened, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- To a medium saucepan, set over medium heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. When melted, stir in the all-purpose flour and cook for about 1 minute. Pour in the milk and whisk until combined and thickened, about 1 minute. Pour in the beer and again give it a good whisk. Cook the sauce for an additional minute or so. During this time it will thicken slightly. Mix in the Dijon mustard, pinch of crushed red pepper, Worcestershire, shredded cheese and egg yolk; stir until cheese has melted. Give it a taste and adjust the salt to your liking. I added about 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
- Divide the melted leeks among the slices of toasted bread. Top with a few spoonfuls of the welsh rarebit and garnish with a sprinkling of Italian parsley.
Hi – love this new take on an old classic… but I think as a Welsh person it is my duty to point out we are a little country next to England and not in England so maybe we should introduce you to more Welsh things that that you love all things Welsh and English. When I travel this is a common misconception so just wanted to let you know Welsh people read your blog too and we are a little country all of our own with our own language 🙂 another recipe you might like is Bara Brith and Welsh Cakes they are traditionally served here with copious cups of tea known in Welsh as a ‘paned’.
That looks great! Although, I don’t see the red pepper flakes or worcestshire in the directions, should we just add that in at any point?
Oh and the mustard!
I’m a huge Anglophile too! I hope you have the best time at Downton Abbey! Take lots of pictures and see if you can find some awesome British recipes. 🙂
One of my favorite restaurants serve’s welsh rabbit with a hot steaming pretzel. It’s all sorts of amazing.
This is a completely new dish to me- I can’t wait to try it! Great, easy recipe.