Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Cymric (Welsh) recipes, part of the British Isles. This page provides links to all the Cymric/Welsh recipes presented on this site, with 601 recipes in total. These recipes represent my culture and my heritage. Many of these are the recipes of my childhood and they are given here bilingually.

These recipes, for the most part, originate in Wales. Though some of the recipes do originate from the (still Welsh-speaking) colony in Patagonia, Argentina. Otherwise they are modern recipes incorporating traditional ingredients.

As a predominantly agrarian tenant economy much of the traditional cooking of Wales reflects this heritage. Traditional food tends to be simple, utilizing readily-available ingredients and those cuts of meat that were not readily saleable. Of late, however, many chefs have begun re-examining and re-interpreting these dishes. Novel dishes, incorporating local ingredients but using international techniques have also begun to appear on the culinary scene and though the overall list of dishes is biased towards the traditional some of these later dishes are also presented here. Enjoy...

This Cymric/Welsh recipe collection represents the largest collection of recipes on this site, and the largest collection of Welsh recipes anywhere on the web.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland represents the largest island in the British archipelago (Great Britain) and Northern Ireland. It is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is 244,376 km², with an estimated population of just over 67 million people in 2021.

Cymru (in Welsh), or Wales (in English) is a nation that is part of the United Kingdom and was united with England by the 1536 Act of Union. Wales is bordered by England to the East and by ocean on all other sides. The nation had a population in 2011 of 3,064,000, and has a total area of 20,779km². Wales has over 1,200km of coastline, and is largely mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone, and has a changeable, maritime climate. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations with a distinct cultural identity and language, the country being officially bilingual.

The English words ‘Wales‘ and ‘Welsh’ derive from the same Germanic root (singular Walh, plural Walha), meaning a ‘foreigner’, or ‘stranger’, who had been ‘Romanised’ but with a connotation of ‘slave’. The modern Welsh, however, see themselves as Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales. These words (both of which are pronounced [ˈkəm.rɨ]) are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning ‘fellow-countrymen’. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the post-Roman Era relationship of the Welsh with the Brythonic-speaking peoples of northern England and southern Scotland, the peoples of ‘Yr Hen Ogledd’ (English: The Old North). It emphasised a perception that the Welsh and the ‘Men of the North’ were one people, exclusive of other peoples. Many prefer the Irish form, Cymric over the English term ‘Welsh’ seeing the English term as being derogatory. Though Cymru is gaining popularity as the name of the country.

A Brief History of Wales

After the Roman departure from Britain in AD 410, much of the lowlands of Britain to the east and south-east were overrun by various Germanic peoples. However, by AD 500, the land that would become Wales had divided into a number of kingdoms free from Anglo-Saxon rule. The kingdoms of Gwynedd, Powys, Dyfed and Seisyllg, Morgannwg and Gwent emerged as independent Welsh successor states. The southern and eastern parts of Great Britain lost to English settlement became known in Welsh as Lloegyr (Modern Welsh Lloegr), which may have referred to the kingdom of Mercia originally, and which came to refer to England as a whole. The Germanic tribes who now dominated these lands were invariably called Saeson, meaning 'Saxons'. The Anglo-Saxons called the Romano-British 'Walha', meaning 'Romanised foreigner' or 'stranger'. The Welsh continued to call themselves Brythoniaid (Brythons or Britons) well into the Middle Ages, though the first written evidence of the use of Cymru and y Cymry is found in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan (Moliant Cadwallon, by Afan Ferddig) c. 633. From 800 onwards, a series of dynastic marriages led to Rhodri Mawr's (r. 844–77) inheritance of Gwynedd and Powys. His sons in turn would found three principal dynasties (Aberffraw for Gwynedd, Dinefwr for Deheubarth, and Mathrafal for Powys). Rhodri's grandson Hywel Dda (r. 900–50) founded Deheubarth out of his maternal and paternal inheritances of Dyfed and Seisyllwg in 930, ousted the Aberffraw dynasty from Gwynedd and Powys, and then codified Welsh law in the 940s. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (r. 1039–63) of Powys ultimately conquered the entirety of Wales and even extend his authority into England. Thus Gruffydd became from about 1057 until his death in 1063 the only Welsh king ever to rule over the entire territory of Wales. Owain Gwynedd (1100–70) of the Aberffraw line was the first Welsh ruler to use the title princeps Wallensium (prince of the Welsh), a title of substance given his victory on the Berwyn Mountains.

Owain Gwynedd's grandson Llywelyn Fawr (the Great, 1173–1240), wrested concessions out of the Magna Carta in 1215 and receiving the fealty of other Welsh lords in 1216 at the council at Aberdyfi, became the first Prince of Wales. His grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffydd also secured the recognition of the title Prince of Wales from Henry III with the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267. Later however, a succession of disputes, including the imprisonment of Llywelyn's wife Eleanor, daughter of Simon de Montfort, culminated in the first invasion by King Edward I of England. As a result of military defeat, the Treaty of Aberconwy exacted Llywelyn's fealty to England in 1277. Peace was short lived and, with the 1282 Edwardian conquest, the rule of the Welsh princes permanently ended. With Llywelyn's death and his brother prince Dafydd's execution, the few remaining Welsh lords did homage for their lands to Edward I. Although the English conquest of Wales took place under the 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan, a formal Union did not occur until 1536, shortly after which Welsh law, which continued to be used in Wales after the conquest, was fully replaced by English law, under what would become known as the Act of Union.

Despite this there were two major revolts against English rule. The first of these 1294–95 was led by Madog ap Llywelyn — who styled himself Prince of Wales in the so-called Penmachno Document. The second was led by Owain Glyndŵr a century later, against Henry IV of England. In 1404, Owain was reputedly crowned Prince of Wales in the presence of emissaries from France, Spain and Scotland. Glyndŵr went on to hold parliamentary assemblies at several Welsh towns, including Machynlleth. The rebellion was ultimately to founder, however, and Owain went into hiding in 1412, with peace being essentially restored in Wales by 1415.

The Symbols of Wales

Throughout this page you will see the traditional symbols of Wales, these are the red dragon (on the Welsh Flag), the leek and the daffodil.

Cymric/Welsh Cuisine

Wales' culinary traditions go back to the Celtic past, where iron-age Celts of Britain knew themselves by the name Brython (Britons). Their style of cookery was essentially one-pot (see the ancient recipes section for a re-construction of some of thee dishes) with a single iron cookpot set over the fire. This style of cookery survived in Wales well into the early 20th century, eventually dying with the coming of electricity and modern stoves. This is why cawl and lobscows, one pot dishes of meat and vegetables that are a meal in themselves are still made throughout Wales and Iron-age Celts, sitting down to a bowl of these would feel at home.

Much of surviving Welsh culinary traditions are based in the poor, essentially working class traditions of the farming and mining communities. Some dishes have cognates elsewhere (oggi is a Welsh form of Cornish pasty) and oat-based broths and cakes are also found in Scotland. Other dishes like bara brith or pice ar y maen (Welshcakes) are uniquely Welsh. Vegetarians in the 1970s were delighted to find Glamorgan sausages amongst Wales' culinary treasures.

Much of traditional Welsh cookery has survived passed down through families and written in family recipe books. Indeed, before the 18th centuries there are no Welsh recipes recorded (apart from a few scraps in herbals) and most of the surviving records are manuscripts in English. So it is to the oral tradition one has to turn for the native cookery of Wales. The recipes presented below come predominantly from this tradition, though I have also added other recipes from modern chefs and cooks. In all cases, the recipes were obtained in the first instance in Welsh, which I recorded and have then been translated into English for this site. So, here, you will see both the original Welsh and a modern English translation of the recipe.

Interestingly, the vegetarian tradition in Wales is stronger than other parts of Britain. This is partly due to necessity. Wales does not have much rich agricultural land and farming, of necessity, is mostly associated with the husbandry of animals. But most of the cattle, sheep and pigs grown were sold further afield and so meat, even on farms was not commonplace. St David (Dewi Sant), patron saint of Wales was vegetarian and extolled a vegetarian diet (which is one reason the leek is a symbol of Wales).

Seafood is also an important part of the diet, with herring (penwaig), cockles (cocos), mussels (cregin gleision), lobsters (cimwch), prawns (corgimwch) and laver (bara lafwr) being important ingredients in a number of historic dishes.