Wales - The land where produce is king - spanishchef.netspanishchef.net

Wales – The land where produce is king

In Wales there is bara brith, the yeasted cake made with fruit soaked in the cold tea leftover in the pot. And even more famously, the saltmarsh lamb, which grazes on the brackish ground unsuitable for other cultivation. It is a small beast, with dark meat, and it tastes not so much gamey as just more intense and sweeter than its more cossetted pasture-raised cousins.

From the sea around Wales comes sewin, the local name for sea trout, and cockles – the best raked from the flats at Penclawdd on the Burry estuary. According to Welsh food writer Gareth Jones, Dylan Thomas’s favourite meal when he lived in Laugharne in Carmarthenshire was cockles and bacon.

Living in Wales, he probably ate it with laverbread, made from cooking down laver – a form of seaweed, which grows on rocks in translucent black sheets like scraps of parachute silk. It is the same species as the nori, dried in sheets and used to wrap sushi. Laverbread is a black-green puree, with a gloopy texture that can seem a bit challenging, but don’t be put off. Laver is full of umami, the fifth taste which is the savoury “yum” of parmesan cheese, soy sauce and roasted meat – and it is delicious.

The flavour has the intensity of Marmite or dry cured black olives, but with a whiff of the sea. It goes brilliantly with meat as well as giving savoury bite to vegetarian dishes.

Generally sold in tins in Wales, you may find delis selling the puree by weight. Use it as a sauce for roast lamb, heating it gently in a small pan and mixing in the de-fatted juices from the roasting tin. Or make laverbread cakes for breakfast. Mix 120g (a tin’s worth) with 3tbsp of oatmeal, and shape it into little flat cakes the size of a gingernut, and coat with more oatmeal.

Traditionally in Wales, they are fried in the fat from the bacon but these days bacon is rarely fatty enough. Boost what is left in the bacon pan add a dollop of lard, or oil, to get enough sizzle. That should warm the cockles, both yours and the ones from Penclawdd.

Welsh cakes

Every bakery in Wales has these stacked in the window, but they are really at their best eaten hot from the pan. They take minutes to put together and cook, so are perfect for tea after a hard day’s festival going. You could even make the dough in advance and keep the uncooked cakes covered in the fridge, leaving just the cooking for the afternoon.

Traditionally they are made with half lard and half butter, which gives them a particular crisp outer and soft light centre. If you prefer, use all butter, which does make for an excellent flavour.

200g self raising flour

1 tsp cinnamon or mixed spice

50g butter (at room temperature)

50g lard (or more butter)

75g caster sugar

75g currants

Grated zest of half a lemon

1 egg, beaten

Stir the flour and cinnamon or mixed spice together in a large bowl with a pinch of salt. Rub in the butter and lard until the mixture looks like fresh breadcrumbs.

Stir in the sugar, currants and lemon zest. Add the egg and bring together to a firm dough. If it seems dry, then add a splash of water or milk.

Roll the dough out on a well floured surface until it is about the thickness of a pencil. Stamp out circles with a cutter (if you don’t have one, a glass or an empty baked bean tin will do the trick). Reroll the trimmings and cut those out too.

Heat a griddle or sturdy frying pan over a low heat. Cook the Welsh cakes a few at a time, turning once, until they are golden brown on both sides and hot through (about five or six minutes). Dredge with caster sugar as soon as they come out of the pan and eat as they are, or leave unsugared and serve with butter and jam.

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