By Georgina Protheroe Beynon

Celebrate St. Levan on Christmas Eve with Bream. (If you can get it) St. Levan is the patron Saint of crippled or malformed children.

Cornwall saw a rush of refugees after the departure of the Romans. Roman Britain probably had bishops in the principal towns, but in the political upheaval, the entire ecclesiastical structure fell apart. Some bishops stayed, though stripped of their dioceses. Most sailed by the first available ship to Armorica, Galicia or Ireland.

In England the Celtic Church doggedly clustered about tiny religious communities. These undertook the cure of souls, subsisting on more or less meagre tithes. Hermits were often referred to as “Saints” because they embraced celibacy and a life of teaching and prayer. Levan was one such.

Baptised “Soloman,” he had a brother Just, or Justin, and a sister Silwen and was born to what was effectively the local Royal Family. Their Father was St. Gerent. Levan had particular patience with crippled or otherwise unable children. For all we know there may have been epidemic polio carried by the refugees. Certainly there would have been many injuries among children working in the tin mines. Levan must have made quite an impression for his ministry to be so long remembered.

Both Just and Levan are connected to West Penwith, where there is a “Plen-an-gwary” or “speaking place”. This long predates the medieval round theatres, and was used for public gatherings, preaching and teaching. Just moved to Rosalind on the Fal, but Levan stayed on the coast by the Penwith cliffs where a tiny chapel remains by a holy well, once used as a Baptistery. (Nowadays this area is best known for the Minack amphitheatre and the Cable & Wireless installation at Porthcurno.)

When you visit St Levan’s, look for the two fish carved on a bench end. These don’t recall the Miracle of Loaves and Fishes, but remind us of a story about the Saint. One day he went down to the rocks to catch fish for supper. All he could get were two chad; bony young sea bream. He threw them back because they were small, but they kept returning to his hook. Eventually he took the two fish home to discover that his sister and her children had come to visit. The hungry children wolfed down the fish so quickly that they choked. Levan prayed and by some means removed the bones. To this day local fishermen name bream “Choke-child” and the story is told in the woodcarving. The lesson being that a) one should trust in God; if He sends you a feast it is for a good reason. b) that if you are greedy you will suffer! I’m sure St Levan, and Silwen’s children never forgot their lesson!

THE RECIPE:
St Levan’s Baked Sea Bream. If you are lucky you may find fresh local fish. Otherwise most of the bream sold is farmed from Greece or France. You could use whole sea-bass, cod or mullet or salmon fillets and have a truly royal feast for the Eve of Christmas. This serves two so multiply accordingly for greater numbers.
1 x 450gr. bream, scaled and gutted
2x potatoes peeled and sliced in thin rounds
2x tomatoes, quartered
1x teasp sugar
1 x small handful of parsley (flat leaf or curly)
2x cloves of garlic, peeled but not muted
A handful of fresh breadcrumbs
Seasoning; olive oil, and lemons for serving.

Method
Preheat oven to maximum temperature. Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 3-4 mins. Drain. Lay the fish on a stout baking dish. Cluster the spuds, tomatoes, and garlic cloves all around it. Add a couple of glugs of olive oil. Strew the surface with crumbs, cover tightly with foil and cook for 20 mins. Remove foil, season, add half the parsley. STOP HERE, if you are going out to Mass! Cook open-topped for a further 5 minutes. Serve from the dish with quartered lemons, the rest of the parsley and chunks of Bread rubbed with garlic and a cut tomato. If you wish to add a Mediterranean flavour, bake with 1-2 bottled anchovies and a sprinkle of well washed salted capers inside the fish. It eats well even when cold, so could be a part of a Réveillon meal after Midnight service. Follow with some peeled pears, (say 6) which you have packed into a saucepan, spiced with a couple of cinnamon sticks, 4 cloves, 4 Allspice and a star anise. Add 4 tablesp. Caster sugar and a bottle of red wine. Bring to boil then allow to simper over a thread of heat for ˝ hour, or until the pears are just soft. Cool and serve with a little juice and a slice of your favourite cheese. The juice makes wonderful jelly for next day or as the basis for hot mulled wine. Happy Christmas!