Celebrate St David’s Day and the arrival of Spring!

The first of March is the feastday of st David, the patronsaint of Wales. in Wales and

all over the world, Welsh men andwomen gather together andcelebrate st David and all thingsWelsh through concerts, dinner andprocessions.

For many other people, St David’sDay has come to symbolise thebeginning of Spring: longer days,some warm sunshine and thecheering sight of daffodils in bloom.

Historic tales suggest that StDavid was a vegetarian who ateonly bread, herbs and vegetablesand who just drank water. For thisreason he is known as the patronsaint of vegetarians and vegans!

So, to help you celebrate StDavid's Day and the early days ofSpring we’ve put together somedelicious heart-warming vegetarianrecipes.

Enjoy some freshly baked BaraBrith or a traditional Welsh Pancake– a Crempog. Often given to newlyarrived family and friends, thesequick tasty treats are sure to bringback many happy memories –perfect with a cuppa.

If there is still a chill in the air thenwhy not enjoy some perfectcomfort food: a delicious savouryLeek & Cheese Muffin or Crumble.Let your taste buds enjoy a cwtch (awarm hug) with those perfectlycombined savoury flavours!

Leek and CheeseMuffins Makes 10, Vegetarianingredientsl 225g/8oz self-raising flourl 1 leek, finely slicedl Freshly ground black pepperl 100g/3½oz half-fat cheddar, gratedl 175ml/scant ¹/₃ pint semi-skimmed

milkl 1 eggl 50ml/3 tbsp olive oill 10 cherry tomatoes

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.2 In a mixing bowl, combine the flour,leek, freshly ground black pepper andcheddar and mix well.3 In a separate bowl, mix together themilk, egg and olive oil. Add this mixtureto the dry ingredients and mix well.4 Grease ten muffin moulds and half-fill each with the mix.5 Prick each cherry tomato – this stopsthem popping when they cook – andpress one tomato into the top of eachspoonful of mix.6 Spoon the remaining mixture overeach muffin to conceal the tomato. Cookfor about 20 minutes until golden brown.

Recipe and photo courtesy of British Leekswww.britishleeks.co.uk

serVes 4, Can be Vegan*ingredientsl 30ml/2 tbsp vegetable oill 1 medium potato, peeled and very

finely cubedl 450g/1 lb leeks, washed and

choppedl 900ml/1½ pints vegetable stockl 250g/9oz soft cheese with garlic

and herbs* l salt and freshly ground black

pepper

to serve:l 4 slices white breadl 100g/4oz soft cheese with garlic

and herbs*

to garnish:l Chopped chives

*For vegans use dairy-free soft ‘cheese’such as Swedish Soft or Tofutti

1 Heat the oil in a large frying pan andgently cook the potato until tender.Add the leeks, cover the pan and leaveto sweat for about 5 minutes.2 Add the vegetable stock, bring to theboil and cook for 20 minutes.3 Put the soft cheese into a bowl. Adda few spoons of soup and blendtogether with a fork to make a thick,creamy consistency. Stir into the hotsoup and season to taste.4 Toast the bread on both sides andremove the crusts. Cut into bite-sizedcroutons and spread one side of eachwith soft cheese. Place on a bakingsheet and pop under the grill for a fewseconds until golden and bubbling.5 Heat the soup through gently, but donot boil.6 Ladle the soup into bowls and topeach one with a few croutons. Sprinklesome chopped chives over and serve.

Extra Special Leek Soup

Recipe courtesy of The Vegetarian Society www.vegsoc.org

serVes 4, Can be Vegan*ingredientsl 500g/1 lb 1½oz leeks (trimmed)l 400ml/generous ²/₃ pint light stockl 100ml/¹/₆ pint single cream *or

vegan creaml 1 tbsp wholegrain mustardl 100g/3½oz breadcrumbs (white)l 30g/1oz skinned hazelnutsl 2 tbsp parsley, roughly choppedl 125g/scant 4½oz vegetarian

cheese, finely grated or crumbled*or vegan cheese

1 Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/gasmark 6.

2 Slice the leeks into circles (no thickerthan 2 cm) and place in a largesaucepan with the stock, cream andmustard. Cook gently for 15 minutesuntil starting to soften.3 Transfer to a ceramic baking dish,saving 2 or 3 tbsp of the stock mixture.4 Place the breadcrumbs, nuts andparsley in a food processor and whizztogether until finely chopped.5 Scatter the crumble and cheese overthe leeks and drizzle the remainingstock mixture over the top. Bake for 10to 15 minutes until starting to turn crispand golden. If necessary, finish underthe grill.

Leek and Cheese Crumble

Photo and recipe courtesy of The Vegetarian Society www.vegsoc.org

serVes 4, Can be Vegan*ingredientsl 2 tbsp olive oill 2 small leeks (well washed and

sliced, retaining as much of thegreen as possible)

l 250g/scant 9oz carrots, peeled andcut with a potato peeler into 4 cmribbons

l 150g/generous 5oz brusselssprouts, peeled and thinly sliced

l 2 large cloves garlic, crushed.l 2 tbsp creme fraiche *or vegan

cream cheese blended with a smallamount of dairy-free milk andlemon juice

l salt and pepper to taste, or use 1 tsp vegetable stock powder

to serve:l 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 Stir fry leeks, carrots and slicedBrussels sprouts for about 4-5 minutesuntil beginning to soften. 2 Add garlic and stir just long enoughto heat through. 3 Add crème fraiche and plenty of saltand pepper, or use vegetable stockpowder instead. Stir to heat throughagain. The crème fraiche will make alight sauce.4 Serve hot, sprinkled with lots ofchopped parsley.

Photo and recipe courtesy of The VegetarianSociety www.vegsoc.org

Ravishing Veggie Ribbons

VegetarianWelsh crempog (also known as Ffroes)differ from the British/French crêpe.They’re more like American pancakesand bigger than Scotch pancakes, andoften served stacked in a pile andsmothered with butter. The stack canbe sliced like a wedge of cake andeaten as a teatime treat.

ingredientsl 2oz/55g butterl 15 fl oz/450 ml warm buttermilkl 10oz/275g all purpose/plain flourl 3oz/75g sugarl 1 tsp bicarbonate of sodal ½ tsp saltl 1 tbsp vinegarl 2 eggs, well beaten

1 Stir the butter into the warmedbuttermilk until melted. 2 Gradually pour the milk and butterinto the flour, beating well. 3 Leave the mixture to stand for at least30 minutes (or a few hours if possible)before stirring in the sugar,bicarbonate of soda, salt and vinegar. 4 Add the eggs and beat well untilsmooth. 5 Drop the batter, a tablespoon at atime, onto a heated, greased griddle orfrying pan, and cook over a moderateheat until golden brown on both sides. 6 Keep the crempog warm and continuethis method until all the batter is used up.7 Spread butter on each pancake and eatwhile warm. Jam, banana, syrup, currantsor even a chocolate drizzle are optional!

Welsh Crempog (Welsh Pancakes)

Bara BrithMakes 1 loaF, VegetarianBara Brith translates to ‘speckledbread’: it’s a rich fruit tea loaf that’spopular all over Wales. Serve it slicedand buttered.

ingredientsl 450g/1lb mixed, dried fruitl 300ml/½ pint cold black teal 175g/6oz dark brown sugarl 1 medium free-range eggl 1 tbsp orange zestl 2 tbsp orange juicel 1 tbsp honeyl 450g/1lb self-raising flourl 1 tsp mixed spicel extra honey for glazing

1 Put the mixed dried fruit into amixing bowl. Pour over the tea, coverand leave to soak overnight. 2 The next day mix together the sugar,egg, orange juice, zest and honey. Addto the fruit. 3 Sift in the flour and mixed spice, andmix well. 4 Pour the mixture into a buttered loaftin and bake at 160°C/325°F/gas mark3 for about 1¾ hours. The loaf shouldbe golden in colour and firm to thetouch in the middle. Baste with honeywhile still warm. 5 Allow to cool thoroughly beforestoring in a cake tin.

For more festive recipes, please visitwww.vegetarianforlife.org.uk/recipes

How can Vegetarian for Life support you?Vegetarian for life is a charity that supports oldervegetarians and vegans and those who cater for them.A quick visit to our website www.vegetarianforlife.org.uk will show you the scope of our work and the wide range of helpful resources that we can offer you.These include:

l Uk list of veg-friendly care homesl Catering and healthy-living guidesl nutritional advicel Charitable grants to aid independent living and respite carel subsidised caterer training for Uk list members.

www.vegetarianforlife.org.ukinfo@vegetarianforlife.org.uk | 0161 257 088783 Ducie street, Manchester M1 2JQ

Registered charity number 1120687Company number 6294709

@VfL_UK VfLUK

Patrons: Rose Elliot MBE, A.C. Grayling MA, DPhil, FRSL, FRSA