Aug 7, 2010

welsh/hungarian rarebit

Brunch

I had this pegged for brunch last week, but because Kate made the baked potatoes with the cheese sauce, I thought it might be overkill.

Welsh Rarebit has an interesting lore, and one that needs to taken with a grain of salt. Since the poor of Wales would hunt rabbit as their main meat, lacking bigger game, such as deer, rabbits were a poor man's food. Cheese was also considered to be a staple of the poor. As an insult then, a bread topped with cheese sauce, earned the term Welsh Rabbit:

Over time Rabbit morphed into Rarebit by virtue of pronunciation.

There you have a semi-factual, but totally-assumed history of the Welsh Rarebit.

Back to the food; Rarebit has also been recreated into British Rarebit, Irish Rarebit, etc. There is no precise recipe for this since the liquid can be anything from water or cream to wine or ale. It usually has some cheese, some mustard, and occasionally onion.
Totally up for interpretation.

The cheese sauce is then spread on toasted bread and then broiled.

I used whole grain English muffin, toasted, spread my cheese sauce - made with a little wine and a lot of cashew milk to thicken, a little Daiya and a bit of Hot Hungarian Paprika - and broiled it.

I grilled a tomato and some green beans to accompany my Welsh Rarebit, but I dare say, mine is a Hungarian Rarebit. It's about time, too - the Hungarians have been missing out.
(I think; I'm not actually sure whether or not we have a Rarebit to call our own, but it is certain that if we didn't before, we do now!)

Cost Breakdown:
cashew: $1
Daiya: $2.50
English Muffin: $4
tomato and green beans: $3
spices and wine: $.50
Total to feed a family of 5:
$11.00



8 comments:

  1. Looks like a great lunch, would go great with asparagus I think ;-) My ancestors are from Whales actually, so I think I shall have to try this in honor of my ancestors. ;-)

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  2. It looks awesome. Don't think I'd consider it an insult if someone served it to me! Thanks for the history and recipe.

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  3. beautiful picture..love the grill marks!

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  4. Gwen, asparagus would be great! I , however, have tons of green beans (CSA).

    Christiane, I love to spin a web, so you are welcome to enjoy the history with the disclaimer :)

    Thank you, Jacklyn.. I love grill marks, too! 45 degree turn.

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  5. I remember reading about a rarebit when I was a child and always wanted to try it… Now I can and after reading your post, I'm definitely going to try this out at home!

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