Cookbook:Welsh Rarebit

Welsh Rarebit
Category	Cheese recipes
Servings	2
Time	10 minutes
Difficulty

Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes | Cuisine of the United Kingdom

There is no small amount of disagreement about what constitutes Welsh Rarebit. Many contend that it is just cheese on toast. At the other end of the spectrum are a variety of recipes in which the bread is steeped in beer or floated in soup.

It has been said that "Welsh rarebit" is a sort of post Act of Union joke, where Irish Rabbit is just bread, Welsh Rabbit is bread and cheese, Scottish Rabbit is bread and dripping and English Rabbit is actually rabbit. This, however, is a moderately uncontroversial recipe for Welsh Rarebit.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 fl oz (60 ml) beer such as porter (Guinness will do)
• 4 fl oz (120 ml) double cream
• 6 oz (170 g) grated Cheddar cheese
• 4 slices of toast

Procedure

1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour.
2. Cook, whisking constantly for 2–3 minutes, being careful not to brown the flour.
3. Whisk in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth.
4. Add beer and whisk to combine.
5. Pour in cream and whisk until well combined and smooth.
6. Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly, until cheese melts and sauce is smooth; this will take 4–5 minutes.
7. Pour over toast and serve immediately.