|
Fresh Welsh Laverbread
Laverbread
(Porphyra Umilicalis) is a strand like seaweed, which
is almost black in the winter months; it then lightens
to a slightly green colour when the seawater warms in
the summer months. Laverbread is picked on the rugged
coastline of Wales from rocks when the tide has gone out.
Laverbread has a rich source nutritional content which
consists mainly of protein, carbohydrate, vitamin B, B2
A and C and are rich source of trace elements and minerals,
most prominent of these is iodine which helps keep our
body metabolism in check. Another plus is that they are
low in calories and re suitable for the ever-increasing
vegetarian market. Walk into any health shop and you will
find it in tablet form & tinned.
When the seaweed arrives at the factory, it is inspected
and goes through a series of washes. It is then cooked
for several hours with only a little salt added; this
produces a very dark, dense spinach like puree.
Many chefs are discovering the culinary assets of laverbread,
adding new dimensions to their repertoires. Traditionally
it has been enjoyed very simply spread on thin toast with
oatmeal or malted vinegar and accompanied by fried or
grilled welsh cured bacon. More recent it has been served
with pasta dishes, in spicy batter with mushrooms, & seafood
pizzas.
Fresh Cockles
Cockles
(Cardium Edule) are gathered by traditional methods which
is by hand rake and by riddle. Cockles are a shellfish
that can be found in the muddy flats of the Burry Estuary,
which lies between the Gower Peninsular and the County
of Camarthenshire. To commercially gather cockles from
the estuary you must have a valid licence form the Sea
fisheries.
Once the cockles have been gathered they are taken to
the factory to be processed. The cockles are pre-washed
and boiled and cooked in their shell. The shells are then
mechanically removed, by a shaker, leaving the cooked
cockle meat. The cockles then go through various cleaning
process and then through cold water to cool them down
before packaging.
Most popular way to enjoy cockles is to eat them with
a little pepper and vinegar as a snack. There are also
many different recipes that you could try. Some of the
most popular are; frying them with some bacon and fresh
welsh laverbread, and another is by simply adding garlic
sauce.
Back
to top
|
