Laverbread

Laverbread is probably one of the most iconic of Welsh dishes, but something of a niche ingredient and an acquired taste!  A taste well worth acquiring too!  It isn’t actually a bread but a cooked edible seaweed, found along the Welsh coastline.

It was a traditional breakfast staple for mineworkers, served with bacon and cockles for those who could get them fresh, or eggs for those living further inland.  Some cook the laverbread simply by reheating it in a pan with some bacon and cockles before spreading it on top toast, with the bacon and cockles on the side; others mix it with oatmeal before frying it and serving with bacon and cockles or egg on the side. 

My method is a simple one and the ingredients simply a matter of ratio – for every tablespoon of laver you mix in a tablespoon of oatmeal (porridge oats).  Season with a little black pepper but no salt because the laver is salty enough.

Per person :

1tb laverbread

1tb oatmeal

Black pepper to taste

2 rashers of bacon

1 egg or a handful of cockles

In a basin mix the oatmeal and laverbread together, seasoning with a little black pepper.

Heat a little lard or bacon grease in a frying pan – or, with the lovely Tefal non-stick pans just cook a few rashers of bacon for a few minutes until they release some fat, then drop spoonfuls of the laver and oatmeal mix into the pan and shape into patties.  It only needs heating through so cook it for as long as the bacon takes to cook through on both sides and turn the patties over once to cook through from the other side. 

If you’re adding cockles simply add them for the last few minutes to heat through properly.  

If you're using egg instead of cockles simply fry or poach as you prefer and serve alongside the laverbread patties and bacon.