Cawl

Specialised

The Welsh national dish and one of the oldest continuously eaten: a broth of mutton or lamb — or bacon, or beef — with leek, potato, swede, carrot and cabbage, cooked slowly and often better the second day. ⚠ THERE IS NO ONE RECIPE AND THAT IS THE POINT: cawl is what a household had, in a single pot over a fire, and the versions differ by county, farm and season. Historically served in two courses — the broth first with bread, then the meat and vegetables — and eaten from a wooden bowl with a wooden spoon.

Atlas — where and when

Communities and languages

Languages: Welsh

What is recorded

Cawl has no single recipe. It is a one-pot broth of whatever meat and root vegetables a household had, varying by county, farm and season, and was historically served in two courses with the broth taken first. No version is recorded as the authentic one. documented

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

related to Scottish Foodways documented
Cawl, Scotch broth and Irish stew are three one-pot mutton-and-root traditions of the same kind and separate descent.