Monmouthshire has three main agricultural areas. The central and eastern part of the county is made up of the large valleys of the rivers Severn, Wye, and Usk and the land in this part of the county is fertile and of good quality with gently undulating land suitable for market gardens and vineyards. The southern part of the county is bounded by the Bristol Channel and includes areas of moorland and marsh, such as Wentlooge and Caldicot. This area was once owned by the monks of Goldcliff Priory who drained the land and built seawalls to prevent the sea flooding the land. The northern and western part of the county is made up of uplands with shallow soils of low nutrient value which are suitable for hill farming. This area includes the valleys of the rivers Ebbw and Sirhowy to the west and the Black Mountains to the north.Davies, Gilli: A Taste of Wales, page 22. London: Pavilion Books Limited, 1995. The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland, 1868
Gilli Davies, the cook and author, notes that Monmouthshire has been successful in expanding the breadth of its food production into areas such as viticulture, horticulture and organic farming. In addition, food marketing initiatives have been created for specialist producers which have thrived, according to Davies, due to good transport links and the close proximity of the county to the markets of England. This helps in food distribution and in the development of a high-quality restaurant trade, with the latter having developed due to the efforts of some key individuals. Davies comments that there is "a rare and appealing quality to the food in Monmouthshire".Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 70
Lady Llanover, "the Bee of Gwent" The cuisine of Monmouthshire is historically associated with Augusta Hall, Lady Llanover, who published one of the first Welsh cookery books, First Principles of Good Cookery (1867). The book uses a fictional Welsh hermit to give culinary advice to a visiting guest who is travelling though Wales. The book's historical significance was noted by Bobby Freeman who, in 1991, arranged for the book to be republished by the Brefi Press together with an introduction explaining its historical significance and the background of Lady Llanover's life.Llanover, Lady: First Principles of Good Cookery, page 22. Wales: Brefi Press, 1991. Taruschio, Franco & Ann: Leaves from the Walnut Tree, page 63. London: Pavilion Books Limited, 1995. Lady Llanover championed Welsh cuisine in the kitchens of her home at Llanover House and during her lifetime was famous for her hospitality, where the following motto hung above the dining room:Freemen, Bobby: Traditional Food From Wales, page 19. New York: Hippocrene Books Inc., 1997.
Da i bawb cynhildeb yw A thad i gyfoeth ydyw Thrift is beneficial to all And is the father of wealth
Gilli Davies, the cook and author, notes that although some of the recipes in First Principles of Good Cookery may have a Welsh origin, others originated from Lincolnshire where Lady Llanover was brought up.Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 74
Meat Lamb and mutton is a popular ingredient for stews, broths and casseroles and is produced by the hill farms in the north of Monmouthshire. It has been a popular dish in local hotels and inns since the start of tourism in the county.
Wirt Sikes, an American journalist and writer known for his writings on Welsh folklore and customs, toured Wales in the 1880s and wrote a book of his travels called Rambles and Studies in Old South Wales. On his visit to Monmouthshire he commented on the quality of its lamb, noting that the chop of lamb served at the Old Croft Inn at Caerleon were "done to a turn... with the true Welsh tenderness and juice..."Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 135 However, at The Beaufort Arms in Monmouth, Sikes commented on the ubiquity of this staple on the restaurant menu as follows:
"the resources of the inn, when tested to their utmost, will produce at the last, and inevitably, chops - neither more nor less. What can you give me inside half an hour?" I ask. "Anything you like, sir" the woman answers with unblushing effrontery, and a respectful cordiality delightful to see in such a connexion, I am tempted to ask for buckwheat cakes, prairie chicken, roast saddlerocks, and watermelons, but compromise with "How about a fowl?" "Fowl, sir? - take about an hour to cook a fowl, sir." But it is idle to defer the climax of this thrilling - or grilling - tale, I had chops for dinner."
Franco Taruschio comments that Welsh lamb has the potential to be a perennial feature on a restaurant menu because lowland lamb is available in early spring, upland lamb is available in summer and mountain lamb is available from late summer to late autumn. He notes that mountain lamb is born out of doors and feeds off grass and herbs.Taruschio, Leaves from the Walnut Tree, page 121
Up until the Victorian era, Welsh Mutton Hams were part of Welsh daily fare. Freeman mentions that the old mutton recipes from Wales "make one's mouth water and one's spirits fray with frustration" and suggests that some of the recipes may be worth adapting to Welsh lamb dishes.
In Lady Llanover's book, an anonymous traveller dines with a hermit and comments on Welsh mutton as follows:Llanover, First Principles of Good Cookery, page 204
"Although real Welsh mutton was admitted by all epicures, and by medical men, to be the very finest for flavour, and the lightest of digestion of all the breeds of sheep known in Great Britain, very few prizes were ever given for the encouragement and preservation of so invaluable a breed of animals"
However, the Traveller, like Sikes, found that not every Victorian tourist inn produced a tasty chop:Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 204
"..even at Welsh inns, during his last absence, he had been sickened by large coarse mutton, though within a mile of mountains, where the best Welsh sheep were to be had, and could alone live and flourish. He added that, at private houses, the same complaint may often be made in Wales as well as in London, from whence the rich, nevertheless, send abroad for all sorts of foreign luxuries for their table, on which the best Welsh mutton is seldom ever found"
Llanover's book attempts to right this wrong with various recipes, including one for Boiled Shoulder of Mutton. This requires the mutton to be boiled for two and a half hours together with onions, celery, marjoram and a small sprig of thyme.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 135-137 There is also a recipe for Welsh Lamb Pie, where the bones from a neck of lamb are cooked together with vegetables and left overnight. Pastry for the pie is made the following day, the meat and vegetables are then added and, after the pie has been baked, the melted jelly from the meat is included.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 142
Annette Yates recommends a recipe for Welsh Mountain Lamb with Honey, Rosemary and Cider (Cig Oen gyda Mel, Rhosmari a Seidr), noting that lamb with honey and rosemary is a traditional combination to which cider can be added. The dish is cooked until the lamb is soft. Yates comments that the juice from the lamb is sweet and this becomes caramelized and golden, due to the honey. Yates notes that several cider producers are concentrated in this part of Wales.Yates, Annette: Welsh Traditional Recipes, A Heritage of Food and Cooking, page 48. Hermes House, 2011.
Monmouthshire Broth is a local recipe that includes neck of lamb. The neck is left simmering in a saucepan for two hours together with chopped onions and sliced carrots. Potatoes are added half an hour before serving and, when ready, chopped parsley is sprinkled on top as a garnish.Grant, Chris: Welsh Country Cooking, page 18. Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2011. Monmouth Stew (Stiw Mynwy) is a lamb stew which includes leeks and pearl barley. Parsley, thyme, and a bay leaf are added for seasoning.Howells, Sheila: Favourite Welsh Recipes (Favourite Recipes), page 7. England: J Salmon Ltd, 1994.
In her cookery book Welsh Country Puddings and Pies, Freeman notes that Anne Hughes, who worked a successful farm on the Welsh Marches near Chepstow, would make a May Day Pie containing meat and fruit. Hughes made her May Day Pie for her farm workers and in order to be 'reddie for who shall cum amaying tomorrow, it being maye day'. May Day Pies were made like a Cornish pastie, with a mixture of cooked meat (probably mutton or lamb) finely chopped apples, pears, onions, lemon thyme, rosemary, pepper and salt. Anne Hughes kept a diary and, during the year 1796, she wrote an account of the daily life on the farm, including some of her favourite recipes.Freeman, Bobby: A Book of Welsh Country Puddings and Pies: Traditional Recipes for Fruit, Milk and Bread Puddings and Sweet and Savoury Pies (Welsh Recipe Booklets), page 29. Y Lolfa Cyf., 2000.
Cattle have been an important component of Welsh agriculture since Roman times. Welsh Black cattle is a traditional breed known for the flavour of its meat and the natural marbling of the flesh. Amanda Wragge includes this meat in her recipe for a Black Beef Burger which includes egg and breadcrumbs, with ginger and cumin added for piquancy.Wragge, Amanda: Welsh Recipes: A Selection of Recipes from Wales, page 29. England: Bradwell Books, 2014. Although Welsh Black cattle is a popular breed in Wales it only represents about 2% of the country's beef output, with other breeds including Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, Holstein Friesian, Charolias, Red Poll, Jersey, Guernsey, and Limousin. Traditional butchers can be found in the county at Abergavenny, Raglan and Monmouth.Pressdee, Colin: Food Wales – a second helping, page 142, page 131. Llanelli: Graffeg, 2008.
Pork has been part of the diet in Wales since early times with the pig being mentioned in the Laws of Hywel Dda. Until recently, almost every family living in the countryside would keep a pig and they would often be left to feed on waste ground and in woodlands.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 115 In The First Principles of Good Cookery, Lady Llanover provides detailed instructions for curing ham.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 122 In Welsh Calendar Cookbook, Davies refers to a recipe for Braised Monmouthshire Pork with Savoury Welsh Cakes, where the Welsh Cakes are used to garnish the pork.Davies, Gilli: Welsh Calendar Cookbook, page 70. Talybont, Ceredigion: Y Lolfa Cyf., 2011.
Goat meat remained popular in Wales long after it ceased to be eaten in England. Goat hams were called 'hung venison' and in early medieval times they were eaten in place of bacon. Thomas Pennant noted that young goats, known as kids, were "a cheap and plentiful provision in the winter months" in Wales. In the past, goat meat was considered inferior to venison and was known as 'hung venison' or 'rock venison'. However, Freeman notes that the best goat is sweet and fat and makes an excellent pasty.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 138-139 Taruschio writes of a recipe for Kid with Orange, Marsala and Coriander, he comments:Taruschio, Leaves from the Walnut Tree, page 134
"We always have kid on the menu in the spring. So many people nearby have goats either for their milk or for their wool. If they have too many billies we have them….Kid meat is a sweet tender meat with hardly any fat."
Poultry and game
Poultry remains an important part of Monmouthshire food production with turkey, chicken and duck being bred organically on some farmsTaruschio, Leaves from the Walnut Tree, page 122