I can say with the upmost sincerity that I mistrust anyone who could say that there is anything more comforting than cheese, equally - yes, but not more. Cheese is something that I crave when I need a soothing reassurance in a moment of doubt which is probably the reason why I keep at least 2-3 different types of cheeses in my fridge at any moment. Four months ago when the shop shelves were stripped bare of flour I went to search for it in the wholesale shops. What I didn’t expect to find was one of my favourite English Cheddar cheeses in the wholesale size range and in my moment of weakness I bought it. Which leads me to today’s recipe.

When trying to decide how to tackle the 1 kg wheel of fortune, one of the first things that came into my mind was Welsh rarebit or rabbit. I had never actually made it, so I sat down by the computer and as always went down a historical rabbit hole.

Welsh rabbit is a traditional British dish whose primary ingredients are cheese and toasted bread. It was first mentioned in 1725 by J. Byron in his private journal ‘I did not eat of the cold beef, but of Welsh rabbit…I had a scollop shell and Welsh rabbit.’

There are several theories on of how the Welsh rabbit got it’s name however that most popular one centres on the availability of meat for ordinary people. Despite the name as far as I have read the dish never have had rabbit (or any meat at that matter) in it. The British parliament passed an Act in 1671 prohibiting ordinary people from hunting or trapping game even on their own land. There were also many people who hunted in the common land however with the large scale agriculture spreading it was fenced off as private land depriving a lot of people from hunting wild game. So the name could have been referred as a joke (or even as a insult) to the fact that a lot of people couldn’t afford even the cheapest of meats so they used cheese as a substitute. Bread (or oatcakes) and cheese were one of the most important staple foods in ordinary peoples diets. Important to note that the Welsh already had a dish called caws pobi (meaning roasted cheese) that dates back to the 15th century. You can find many more Welsh Rabbit origin theories on the foodtimeline.org website which I have linked below.

As for the rabbit vs rarebit name debate they only source of information that I came across was that the name rarebit was first recorded in 1785 by Francis Grose in his cook A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Here I agree with Felicity Cloake - always rabbit, not rarebit. Rarebit sounds just weird and unappetising, rabbit on the other hand quirky and fun.

The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse (1747)

There are different variations of Welsh rabbit, with the earliest I have found is in Hannah Glasse 1747 cookbook The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, though my collection is still quite small. There she has also included a Scotch rabbit and two English rabbit recipes. The former only differing from the Welsh rabbit with that it doesn’t use mustard and the latter two has you to drench the bread in red wine before putting the cheese on which sound rather… shall I say unappetising? Unlike the modern recipes where you make a cheese sauce/paste that is spread on the bread and then grilled, these earlier ones for the most part are just that melted cheese on toast. This however doesn’t lend itself for a interesting recipe.

There was one recipe that did catch my eye. It is called Ramaquins on Toasts from 1788 cookbook The English Art of Cookery by Richard Briggs. Here you melt the cheese with white wine, then add some flavourings and yolks and let the mixture thicken over fire. This produced a thin sauce that once cooled is quite spreadable. There where three options to choose from on how to proceed, one of them being a toastie. I also decided to play with the flavours. After the sauce was made I reserved half and added a splash of Worcestershire sauce, little bit of finely chopped chives and about a tablespoon of n’duja to it. The end result was very good and I think it is a good way how to use up leftover cheese and wine. Unlike a traditional Welsh rabbit, this made for a relatively light meal and didn’t weigh you down afterwards as much.

The English Art of Cookery by Richard Briggs (1788) — *The English Art of Cookery* by Richard Briggs (1788)

Richards Briggs Cheese Ramaquins on Toast

220 grams Cheddar cheese, grated
70 ml white white
1/2 tsp English mustard
knob of butter
2 egg yolks

In a small saucepan over gentle heat melt the cheese and wine together. Add beaten yolks, butter and mustard to the cheese mixture and stir until the mixture has thickened. Pour into ramekins and let it cool down.

When ready to make it, preheat the oven to 200°C (preferably on grill setting if you have that option).
Take a dollop of the cheese spread and spread it over a slice of bread. Put it in the oven and cook it until the bread has toasted and cheese has acquired a dalmatian appearance. Eat while hot.

Disclaimer! I live in a small city apartment and cook on a electric stove-top and oven. The recipes have been recreated with modern appliances and ingredients from my local grocery shop as that is what was available to me at the time of writing. I only recently have started to cook from old cookbooks and still have much to learn so it is very much possible that I have misinterpreted a recipe and the fault is mine and not the recipes.

Sources

BOOKS
The English Art of Cookery by Richard Briggs (1788)
The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse (1747)
The Time Travellers Guide to Restoration Britain by Ian Mortimer (2017)
Oxford English Dictionary

INTERNET
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq1.html#rabbit
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/oct/27/how-to-cook-perfect-welsh-rarebit