Welsh Rarebit Potatoes with Cavolo Nero

These Welsh Rarebit Potatoes with Cavolo Nero feature a strong cheese sauce made with hard cider, two mature cheeses, English mustard powder and Worcestershire sauce.

There’s a little café in town where we like to go for breakfast. It’s right next to the central market and close to the fish market so we park, enjoy a delightful breakfast and then get our shopping done. My perfect outing. 

One of my favorite dishes at Rosie's Café is their Welsh rarebit, a lovely slice of toast heaped with a bitey cheese sauce then popped under the broiler/grill until it bubbles and turns golden. It is most delightful, rich and filling. 

I make a similar sauce for cauliflower cheese but never thought to top potatoes with it until I saw a recipe in delicious. magazine. This is my rendition of that recipe, with the addition of the greens.

Welsh Rarebit Potatoes with Cavolo Nero

I use the very handy real bacon crumbles I buy in Costco for this dish but it’s never crispy enough, hence the extra frying step. If your bacon is already cooked extra crispy, you can skip that. Cavolo Nero is also known as Tuscan kale. You can use regular kale if it’s not available. 

Ingredients

7 oz or 200g cavolo nero/Tuscan kale

2 green onions, green part only

1/3 cup or 40g cooked bacon, crumbled

1 lb or 450g Jersey royals or other new potatoes, halved if large

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups or 295-359ml dry cider (I use Strongbow Original)

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons plain flour

Splash Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon English mustard powder (I use Colman's)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 1/2 oz or 100g mature cheddar, coarsely grated

3 1/2 oz or 100g Gruyere or Comté, coarsely grated

Method

Wash the cavolo nero well then remove the hard stalks.  (You can discard/compost these or save them for making vegetable stock later.) 

Cut the leaves roughly. 

 I forgot to wash first so I soaked, rinsed and spinned three times after chopping. It is easier to wash the whole leaves so do as I say, not as I did! 

Chop the green onions finely and set aside a small amount for garnish. 

Use a pot that will fit your potatoes nicely in a single layer, then pour in enough cider to just cover them and the 1/4 teaspoon salt. 

Bring to the boil, covered with a lid, then simmer for 15-18 minutes until tender to the point of a knife. 

Drain off the cider into a heatproof vessel. You should have about 1 cup or 240ml (if not, make up the difference with water or extra cider.)

While the potatoes are simmering, fry your bacon bits in a skillet till they are extra crispy. Add in the cavolo nero leaves and cook until they are wilted and any liquid they produce has evaporated. These are sturdy greens that take a while to cook. I put a lid on at the beginning, then remove the lid so the liquid can evaporate.

Remove the bacon and cavolo nero to a bowl, leaving behind any bacon fat. 

Add the butter to the bacon pan over a medium heat, then add the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring to create a light roux. 

Gradually stir or whisk in the reserved cider to make a smooth sauce.

Mix in the Worcestershire sauce, mustard and cayenne pepper, then simmer for a few minutes. 

Add the cheeses and mix until fully melted. 

Sprinkle in the bigger pile of chopped green onions. 

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. 

Put the potatoes in a baking dish or casserole then add in the cavolo nero with bacon. Use a spoon to tuck the greens around the potatoes to create a single layer. 

Spoon the cheese sauce over the potatoes and cavolo nero and sprinkle on the reserved chopped green onions.

Bake in the preheated oven until hot and bubbling, about 20 minutes, finishing it off with about five minutes under the broiler/grill to brown. 

Serve bubbling hot! This delicious dish is rich enough to be served as a main. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 23th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter W. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the W recipes below:

• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Chocolate Mint Whoopie Pies 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Cranberry Wild Rice 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Creamy Butternut Squash Soup with Whiskey
• A Messy Kitchen: French Onion Sausage and White Bean Bake
• Culinary Cam: Frisky Whiskey Chocolate Cake 
• Blogghetti: Homemade White Gravy Mix
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Sausage and Wild Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Waldorf Salad 
• Food Lust People Love: Welsh Rarebit Potatoes with Cavolo Nero 
• Palatable Pastime: Warm Potato Salad with Kielbasa
• Sneha’s Recipe: White Chicken 
  
  
  

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 

S. Fresh Scallop Sashimi 

T. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing 

U. Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice

V. Mirabelle Plum Vodka 

W. Welsh Rarebit Potatoes with Cavolo Nero – this post! 

Pin these Welsh Rarebit Potatoes with Cavolo Nero!

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Mirabelle Plum Vodka

Deliciously fruity, tart but not too sweet, this Mirabelle plum vodka is great in cocktails, served over ice with soda water or simply sipped straight.

Recently I was lamenting the lost fig trees of my childhood - oh, how I loved my grandmothers’ trees and their sweet summer fruit! – and the very next day, providence shined upon me, bringing me not figs, but free Mirabelle plums.

I had fixed some snacky food and packed a bottle of cold water in a small cooler so that my husband and I could explore this beautiful island we are blessed to have a home in. We had in mind a public picnic area on the east coast we had spotted last summer.

As we parked the car then gathered out belongings, I noticed that the ground was covered in little round jewels of varying hues from yellow to orange and red. I glanced up and there was a Mirabelle plum tree, covered in extra vines but full of fruit, much of it still green.

I filled a small bag with the bounty, practically giggling with glee. Who doesn’t love some free fruit?

With the first pound of plums, I made a delightful small batch of jam, just two jars. With the balance, I decided to make flavored vodka. 

Mirabelle Plum Vodka

If you don’t have little Mirabelles, you can use another variety of plums but I would recommend cutting them in half or quarters to infuse. I covered the plums plus a little extra with just over a cup of vodka. Depending on the jar you use, you may need a little more or even a little less. 

Ingredients

7 oz or 200g Mirabelle plums

8.45 fl. oz or 250ml vodka

3-4 tablespoons sugar (I used golden caster but everyday sugar will do.)

TIME

Method

Wash and dry the plums, making sure to discard any that are mushy. Put them in a jar with a tight seal then pour in the vodka to cover. 

Store in a cool, dark place for at least four weeks. Or longer, if you have the time. Mine infused for six weeks.  I put it in the window for the photos to make it easier to see the color change in the vodka.

Once your infusion time is up, add three tablespoons of the sugar to a mixing bowl. Strain the plums through a sieve on top of the sugar bowl so the vodka goes into the bowl. 

Gently press the plums just enough to make them split but do not mash them too hard. We don’t want bits in the vodka, just any vodka juice that may be inside the plums to drain out. 

Stir the vodka until the sugar has dissolved then taste it. Add a little more sugar, if desired. I added about half of the final tablespoon, so 3 1/2 tablespoons total.

Decant the Mirabelle plum vodka into a clean, sterilized bottle. My final volume was 11 oz or 325ml.

This makes a most delightfully refreshing drink, tart and not too sweet, to sip straight, or with ice and soda. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 22th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter V. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the V recipes below:

• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Cranberry Orange Vinaigrette 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Instagram - Sweet Tea Vodka Vegetable Couscous Soup
• Food Lust People Love: Mirabelle Plum Vodka 
• Blogghetti: Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Salata De Varza Rosie 
• Culinary Cam: Summer Rolls and Nước Chấm, a Ubiquitous Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
• Sneha’s Recipe: Vangi Bath Masala - Homemade
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Vanilla Bean Sable Cookies 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Vaquero Chicken
• A Messy Kitchen: Vichy Carrots  

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 

S. Fresh Scallop Sashimi 

T. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing 

U. Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice

V. Mirabelle Plum Vodka – this post! 

Pin this Mirabelle Plum Vodka!

.

Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice

Umeboshi calamansi lime juice is a refreshing drink popular in Asia, made with calamansi limes and sour plums aka umeboshi over ice.

Back in February of this year, I went to my Costco and discovered several pallets of citrus trees right outside the front door. To my absolute amazement, one of them was a calamansi lime! The tag had a different name and the peels were orange instead of green, but I’d know that aroma anywhere after living in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia for a combined total of 13 or 14 years.

There were only a few left so I did not hesitate and put one in my shopping cart right away. Then a funny thing happened. I was stopped repeatedly by other customers as I did the rest of my shopping, wanting to know where I’d found the tree! Apparently, there were none left up front. One Asian woman even questioned why I needed it. I guess she was hoping I’d hand it over? Who knows!

Anyhoo, I planted the baby in the ground in my backyard and it rewarded me with a decent crop of little limes, as seen below. Crossing my fingers it will do the same again in the next few months. 

Depending on the country, this delicious drink is called different names. In Malaysia where I ordered it often, it’s known as limau kasturi asam boi or usually just limau asam boi, but it’s always made with calamansi or kasturi limes. 

And for those who are curious, normal green limes are called limau nipis in Malay. Just limau means lemon. 

Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice

If you aren’t fortunate enough to be able to source the calamansi limes you can make this with regular ones (skip blending the peels!) but you’ll need more sugar to counterbalance the tartness of the juice. 

Ingredients to serve two:

2 teaspoons sugar

6 calamansi limes

2 umeboshi or dried sour plums

Ice cubes

Method

Add 1 teaspoon sugar and one sour plum into each glass. Pour in 1/4 cup or 60ml hot water in each to dissolve the sugar and steep the sour plums.

Wash the limes and cut them in half. 

Remove the seeds and squeeze the juice into a large measuring cup or bowl.

Use a metal straw or spoon to mash the plums in the glasses a little. 

In a blender or food processor, blend the lime peels with 2 tablespoons of the squeezed juice.  

Strain through a sieve into your measuring cup or bowl, pressing gently with a spoon to get all the juice out. Discard the peels. 

Divide the juice between the glasses and add ice cubes.

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 21th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter U. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the U recipes below:

• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Upside Down Bacon Pancake
• Food Lust People Love: Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice
• Sneha’s Recipe: Upside Down Apricot Bundt
• A Messy Kitchen: Apple Bourbon Upside Down Cakeu
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Ube Pandesal
• Blogghetti: Jumbo Upside Down Pineapple Muffins
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Udon Noodle Salad
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Black Forest Upside Down Cake
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Chunky Pumpkin Ancho Unsweetened Cocoa Chili

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 

S. Fresh Scallop Sashimi 

T. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing 

U. Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice– this post! 

Pin this Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice!

.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing

These succulent roasted chicken thighs are baked on top of the stuffing, so it gets basted with chicken juice while the chicken turns golden. Divine. 

This is a dish that I make when I’m tired of the typical starchy sides of rice, potatoes and pasta. A lot of people only think of stuffing only when it’s turkey time but, boy, howdy, it goes so well with chicken! You don't have to wait for Thanksgiving or Christmas to make stuffing. Really. Don't wait. Life is too short. 

This is a family favorite for us, all year round. I hope it will be one of yours too.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing

I have no idea where they got to but I either didn’t take photos of making the stuffing or I have somehow misplaced them. It’s pretty easy though and basically the same instructions as my regular bread dressing recipe, which does have photos, here: Buttery Baked Bread Dressing  But any questions, please leave me a comment and I will endeavor to respond promptly!

Ingredients

For the chicken:

4 chicken thighs, boneless, skin on

fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

cayenne

poultry seasoning

olive oil for drizzling on before baking

For the stuffing:

6 slices sandwich bread, cubed

1 small onion, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2 tablespoons butter, plus extra for the casserole dish

fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 cup or 240ml chicken stock

Optional garnish: chopped parsley

Method

Season the chicken thighs with a generous sprinkle of salt, pepper, cayenne and poultry seasonings. Set aside. 

In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat and cook the onions and celery until they are soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Add a good pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper, along with the poultry seasoning and cayenne.

 

Set your oven to preheat at 350°F or 180°C and butter your favorite casserole dish.

 

Put the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and pour the seasoned buttery celery and onions over them. Use two spoons like salad tongs to toss and combine.

 

Add the stock and toss again to combine.

 

Check for seasoning and stir in more salt and pepper as needed. Depending on the saltiness of your stock, you might not need much (or any) salt.

 

Pour the mixture into your buttered casserole dish and nestle the seasoned chicken thighs skin side up on top of the stuffing. Spread the skin out so it can all get crispy. This is one of the best parts!

Give it a drizzle of olive oil. 

Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through. If it starts to brown too much before it’s cooked, you can cover the baking dish with foil. 

Remove from the oven and serve hot. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 20th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter T. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the T recipes below:

• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Tomato Tortellini Soup
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Tangerine Ricotta Cookies
• Food Lust People Love: Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing
• A Messy Kitchen: Blueberry Buckle Tassies
• Sneha’s Recipe: Thakkali Chammanthi /Tomato Chutney
• Palatable Pastime: Pass Around Macaroni and Tomatoes
• Blogghetti: Thanksgiving Turkey Veggie Platter
• Culinary Cam: Bitter Orange and Blackberry Thumbprint Cookies
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Michigan End of Summer Harvest Salad
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Budget-Friendly Chunky Potato Soup with Thyme
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Mini Taco Salad Cups

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 

S. Fresh Scallop Sashimi 

T. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing – this post! 

Pin these Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing! 

.

Fresh Scallop Sashimi

More a method than a recipe, this fresh scallop sashimi is easy to make with a little cling film, time in a freezer and a sharp knife. 

Back in our Dubai days, before my husband retired, he traveled a lot. I wasn’t alone since our wonderful Boxer boy was still around but I did miss him. One perk though was that with all those miles in the air, he earned platinum status on Emirates Airline, which gave us access to the Emirates first class lounge. 

The first class lounge had a fabulous menu of delicious items we loved, like the wild mushroom soup. I ordered that every time, that is, until they added a sushi bar. Manned by Japanese sushi chefs, items were made to order from the freshest of ingredients, flown in from Japan. It was heaven. 

Our favorite thing was fresh scallop sashimi, something we had never tried before in a regular Japanese restaurant, and we were hooked. 

Now, whenever we are able to buy hand-dived scallops, I always make at least one batch into sashimi. 

Fresh Scallop Sashimi

You can make this with as few or as many fresh scallops as you can get your hands on. You will also need a good freezer and cling film. You can fry up the roe with butter and a little garlic and salt or use them in another recipe, like my celeriac mash with scallop roe butter. 

Ingredients

Hand-dived scallops

Cling film

Freezer space

Time

To serve: wasabi and soy sauce 

Method

Remove the roe from the scallops and trim off the “foot” which is the little tough bit that holds the scallop to its shell and discard.

Stretch a piece of cling film out on a clean work surface and line the scallops up side by side on their long side. 

Roll the cling film up as snugly as possible to push the scallops into a cylindrical shape. 

Chill in the freezer until just about frozen. (You can also leave them in for a couple of days, just remove and leave to thaw slightly before continuing.)

Remove from the freezer and use your hands to roll and press the scallops to make them even more cylindrical. Imagine you are making a long sausage out of dough. 

Slice one at a time with sharp knife into thick circles. 

Place single file on a serving plate. Leave to thaw completely then serve with a dollop of wasabi paste mixed in to soy sauce for dipping. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 19th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter S. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the S recipes below:

• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Sourdough Focaccia 
• A Messy Kitchen: Marionberry Lavender Chiffon Cake 
• Blogghetti: Spinach and Cheese Crescent Rolls 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Spicy Peas 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Semitas 
• Food Lust People Love: Fresh Scallop Sashimi 
• Culinary Cam: Semifreddo al Miele 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Weeknight Sweet Italian Sausage Gravy with Beer 
• Magical Ingredients: Shahi Paneer Dip
• Palatable Pastime: Seasoned Baked Chicken Legs
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Chermoula Sweet Potato Salad

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 

S. Fresh Scallop Sashimi – this post! 

Pin this Fresh Scallop Sashimi!

.