Really Welsh Rarebit

March begins with St David's day, celebrated in olden-days England by lynching life-sized effigies of Welshmen and eating special gingerbread biscuits baked in the shape of Welshmen riding goats. My mother has always been suspicious of the Welsh, and for years our family enemy was 'The Red Dragon', a local woman with an extravagant flame-haired updo and a pronounced Welsh accent. Then we moved house and my mother zeroed in on another hapless Celtic sister. This one had OCD, though in the 1980s she was just known as 'mental' - forever polishing her glass table tops and only allowing her 2 children to bring one toy downstairs.

Lured to Wales by the promise of a very cheap holiday soon after leaving home, I was surprised and delighted by its breathtaking views, mountains, sweeping bays, waterfalls and RAF jets blasting down the valleys.

Welsh rarebit is delicious for breakfast, lunch, tea or dinner and the sneaky leek makes it even more Welsh and even more delicious. Make the topping and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days, so it's ready when you are. This is enough for 3 hungry people.

Really Welsh Rarebit

1 leek
30g butter
30g plain flour
150ml beer
1 teaspoon English mustard
2 teaspoons Worcester sauce
1 egg yolk
150g cheese, grated
Chilli jam (optional)

Chop the leek and cook it in a pan with the butter for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the flour and stir well, gradually adding the beer until you have a thick sauce. Add the remaining ingredients and some black pepper, then stir well over a low heat until everything is combined and the cheese is mostly melted.

Toast bread of your choice (mine is M&S fig and hazelnut bread) on both sides then spread with a little chilli jam and a lot of cheesy mixture. Make sure it goes right up to the edge of the toast or the bread will burn. Grill until puffy and brown.

Who ate all the pies?

A moonwalking Shetland pony to sell you a phone? A meerkat to sell you insurance? Companies will do anything to get you to turn a weary eyeball in their direction these days. But one pastry manufacturer has come up with a stonkingly good idea - British Pie Week (which ends today). Who doesn't love a pie, especially at this time of year? Sweet or savoury, the options are endless, though you might balk at the 17th century fad for putting live birds in pies which would fly out when the crust was cut open. Then what? Presumably the enraged birds flapped around the diners, defecating on the rest of their food. Back to more appealing pie thoughts and this delicious chicken and leek pie topped with crunchy-crispy filo pastry...

Aerial view of chicken and leek filo pie

Chicken and Leek Filo Pie

55g butter
1 or 2 large leeks, finely sliced
2 large carrots, diced small
half a packet lardons (about 90g) or a couple of chopped bacon rashers
1 tablespoon plain flour
400ml hot chicken stock
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons double cream
350g cooked chicken, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
4-5 large sheets filo pastry

Pre-heat the oven to 200/gas 6.

Bottom: Cook the leeks, carrots and lardons in 25g of the butter for about 15 minutes until softened. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute. Gradually add the stock, stirring until you have a smooth sauce, then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the mustard, cream, chicken and parsley and tip into an ovenproof dish.

Top: Melt the remaining 30g butter. Taking one sheet of filo at a time, gently scrunch it and drop it onto the top of the filling. Repeat until all the filling is covered with pastry, then brush liberally with melted butter and bake without delay.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden and the bottom is bubbling.

Cheese and leek macaroni cheese

Mealtimes wouldn't be mealtimes in this household without a sneer. I've added a leek to tonight's macaroni cheese which is sure to attract some curled lips and unfavourable comments. It will also give your mac 'n' cheese a bit of colour and a touch of sweetness.

I used wholemeal pasta for extra sneers

Cheese and leek macaroni cheese

2oz butter
1½ oz plain flour
About 15 fl oz milk (I used skimmed)
1 leek
8oz pasta
7oz grated cheese
¼ teaspoon English mustard

Cook the pasta. While you're doing that, put the leeks and butter into a pan over a low heat. Cook for about 5 minutes (still low) after the butter has melted, then add the flour and stir well. Pour in the milk, a bit at a time, stirring continuously. When the milk's all in add the cheese, mustard and a few grinds of black pepper and stir some more. Drain and rinse the pasta, and mix it into the sauce. Transfer to an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over another couple of ounces of cheese and stick under a hot grill until the cheese is melted and bubbling.