“Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things.”
Today we celebrate the feast of St. David, the patron Saint of Wales. The history of this Saint is a bit sketchy at best with many legends attributed to him, wether there is any truth in them, who knows. However the one thing we do know is that he was a man of great faith. he founded a number of monasteries in Wales and on the west side of the U.K. He had a number of followers who lived very ascetic lives. After traveling to Jerusalem with his cousin St. Teilo David became a Bishop of Menevia, an important port city linking Wales and Ireland in his time.
The above quote is believed to be the last thing David said as he was dying. And that's one of the things I love about the Catholic Church. Her history is littered with men and women who down through the ages have tried to live faithfully, to her founder. Leading others into a deeper relationship and trying to protect her teachings from heresies and other false notions. But whatever St. David did, or didn't do he is a man whom the Welsh people have taken deep into their hearts and for whom we pray that St.David will intercede for their nation.
One of our favourite St Davids's day dishes is leeks and ham in cheese sauce. Legend has it that this emblem, so well known for the welsh, came into being after a battle in which the welsh were trying to defend themselves against the Saxons. The monk saw that his people were being overwhelmed in the battle. They were finding it hard to distinguish who was friend and who was foe because they were all dressed very similarly. The good monk pulled up a leek and told the Welshmen to place it on their helmets so that they would be able to recognize each other and know who were their enemies. The Welshmen probably found this a bit strange, but he was a man of God so they followed his advice. Before long they had won the battle and these lovely, tasty delicacies won their way into the peoples hearts. So in honour of St.David I encourage you to eat some leeks on this day and try to live out
St.Davids motto"Be joyful, keep the faith and do little things."
Leeks and ham in cheese sauce
Allow two leeks per person or more if you love them! Wrap them in a piece of ham and place in a baking dish.
For the cheese sauce
- 25g/1oz cornflour or plain flour
- 600ml/1 pint milk
- salt and pepper
- A pinch of mustard powder
- 80g/3oz mature cheddar or other hard cheese
- QMelt the butter in a saucepan.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat and gradually stir in the milk to get a smooth sauce. Return to the heat and, stirring all the time, bring to the boil.
- Simmer gently for 8-10 minutes and season with salt and white pepper.
- Stir in cheese and allow to melt. Don t re-boil the sauce or it will
become stringy.Pour sauce over the leeks and ham, top with some extra grated cheese and place in a hot oven 180.c 350f gas mark 4 for about 30/40mins or until the leeks are nice and soft and the cheese sauce is golden.Server with a lovely crisp green salad and some really nice bread to mop up that lovely sauce.
