Welshman's Caviar

I've always felt a certain affinity for Wales, despite not having (to my knowledge) even the slightest hint of Welsh heritage in my family history whatsoever. We did however spend a few very enjoyable holidays in a cottage in North Wales many years ago, so perhaps that's it. Or the fact that my name's David. Or that I really like leeks. Whatever the reason, I had been keen to mark St. David's Day in some way last year, just as I had tried the tin of Irish stew for St. Patrick's Day, and several Scottish delicacies too, but at that time I had yet to find any tinned Welsh products with which to do so.

It was a great delight therefore when, in an ASDA in Somerset of all places, I stumbled across a tin of laverbread ("bara lawr"), which the blurb on the box it came in informs me is "Bwyd Taddodiadol o Gymru". That's "A traditional Welsh delicacy" to you and me. It goes on to elaborate that it is "produced from the edible seaweed Laver, which grows on the rocky coastal areas of Wales" and is "rich in health giving minerals including iron and iodine". The seaweed is boiled for several hours and then minced or pureed, leaving a "gelatinous paste", according to Wikipedia, which might not sound all that promising, but given that it is sometimes referred to as "Welshman's Caviar" (even Richard Burton thought so, apparently), it must be held in high regard by some. Unless it's nothing special, and the comparison just came about since they are both slightly unusual delicacies from the sea. Or maybe laverbread is horrible, and so that's actually a dig at Welshmen. I was keen to find out, and 1st March this year was the perfect day to do so.

Opening the tin, the description of it as a "gelatinous paste" seems accurate at least; a deep, dark green mush sits there, which even when shaken barely wobbles at all. The smell is not all that dissimilar to the callaloo I tried some months back - that same vegetal funk with a spinach-like hit of iron is there, but also a slight brininess too, which makes sense given where the laver has come from. Taste-wise it is very similar to the seaweed you get in Chinese restaurants, if you can imagine that in gelatinous paste form rather than crisp and crunchy.

Although traditionally served for breakfast with bacon and cockles, on the box Parsons offer some other suggestions for ways to enjoy it. The Laver Cakes immediately appealed, so I used half the tin for those, combining it with oats and forming it into little patties which I fried in the fat from the bacon, again recommended as an accompaniment. Even without the bacon though, these are actually really tasty, with the oats providing some necessary body and texture to what would otherwise be a fried splodge of gelatinous paste, and a nice nuttiness where they have started to crisp up and toast on the outside of the cakes.

Also featured on the box is a recipe for Laver and Cockle Pate, involving blitzing a tin of laverbread with two jars of Parsons' Pickled Cockles, some cottage cheese, garlic and eggs, and then cooking the mixture in a bain marie. As a "Tasty Tip", they suggest replacing the garlic with a tablespoon of either Tia Maria or brandy. I can imagine the latter being alright; the former however sounds utterly revolting. Anyway, not having any jarred cockles to hand, I decided to forgo the pate in any of its forms.

Ready for toppings!

The final suggestion is far simpler - for their "Toasted Laver Snacks", Parsons suggest spreading the laver on toast and topping with "any of the following: scrambled egg, sliced tomato, grilled bacon, Parson pickled cockles or mussels. Top with cheese and finish under the grill for a few minutes". That all sounded pretty damn good to me - and reminded me that I had a tin of Smoked Mussels in my stash, which would probably work as well as anything pickled. Seeing as I had all the other topping suggestions too, I decided to go for "the works", also adding some grilled spring onions to 'Welsh it up' a bit more, as they look like miniature leeks.

The mussels have the same "SMOKED GREAT TASTE" (as the box says) as the oysters I tried last year for Valentine's Day, also produced by John West. In fact, the smoky taste is the most noticeable thing about them - they certainly look like mussels, but in a blind tasting I'm not sure I would have been able to tell any difference between them and the oysters.


Their smokiness stands up well against the strong ferrous tang of the laverbread, though given that I also have the bacon there, providing a similar flavour, perhaps pickled mussels or cockles would have been even better, adding a vinegary taste to the mix as well. But no matter; while it may have looked like a bit of a car-crash on a plate, it was nonetheless a load of very tasty bits and pieces served up together - a hearty meal if ever there was one.

So, is the laverbread comparable to caviar? Maybe I've it's because I haven't had the really good stuff, but I've never quite seen what all the fuss is about with caviar. The laverbread, however, is tasty, wholesome and nutritious, and of course vastly more affordable. Less refined, maybe - indeed it used to be eaten as part of a full breakfast by Welsh pitmen in need of plenty of energy before a day's work - but overall, it just feels altogether more down-to-earth. Which is perhaps the very same characteristic that attracts me to Wales and its people too. Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus! (Happy St. David's Day!)