Welsh Caviar

Truly Delicious (capital D)

One of the first things I do when I find myself in Swansea (which I did yesterday) is head to the market in order to buy that holiest of Welsh delicacies, Penclawdd laverbread. You simply cannot make a traditional Welsh breakfast without it: bacon fried with laverbread and cockles is a stunning meal. Every forkful sending you into orgasmic fits. And no, im not exaggerrating!
So what is this laverbread? In Welsh its called Bara Lafwr, and all it is is seaweed that is collected from the shore and boiled for a few hours before being shredded and pureed.
Its nicknmaed the Welsh caviar but to be honest its much better than caviar, which is quite bland next to it. Unbelievably some folk don't like laverbread, but these have either never tried it (boring) or have deficent tastebuds and in this case they really ought to get them remedied because life is undoubtedly the poorer without Bara Lafwr in it. Again no exaggerration. Of course I could say its good that some dislike it because that means theres more for those of us blessed with a working palate but people should like it, no ifs or buts. Its bloody delicious!
Laverbread can be pretty expensive in some places but it needn't be. Its easy to harvest and make it at home, especially if you are lucky enough to live on the coast. My hometown is Burry Port which faces Penclawdd and the Gower, so I always had an amply bounty of it along with cockles. Good for you too, its packed with iron and has more than enough minerals to get you going in the morning.

Music to eat to ~ Dafydd Iwan, Max Boyce


Todays breakfast: minus cockles but still fabulous!

The Contented Sole

Or the Contented belly

I thought I would add a new 'feature' on this site and mention some of the wonderful Fish & Chip shops we have here in Wales. And lets be honest, no matter how much fun cooking can be, there are times when you just want to relax and let someone else sweat over fryer for a change.
So first up is The Contented Sole which can be found on Priory street in Carmarthen. Very good chippy which also has a few tables to eat in if the weathers doing its usual cloudy, miserable routine. (Although seating has been cut again recently).
I can heartily recommend the rissoles and pies which are both superb but a big mention must go to the cod & chips. One word: delicious! Golden, crispy batter that reveals white, melt-in-your-mouth flakes of fresh fish, accompanied by chips as they should be made in chip shops. Some places turn out soggy, sorry looking potato chunks that swim in grease but The Contented Sole does not. Theirs are pretty perfect in fact and I challenge anyone to come away disappointed.

***** Metal Moshing Score 9/10 *****




Bask in its crispiness!

Parson's Nose

Pygostyle: a tasty morsel

It was Thanksgiving Day yesterday (I celebrate eventhough im Welsh), and once again when the turkey was ready I headed straight for the part I enjoy the most: the Parson's Nose.
"WTF is that?" I hear the keyboards ask in unison like a curious congregation of plastic. Really wanna know? Very well, its the birds ass. No kidding! The Parson's Nose is that juicy protuberance that you can see on the Turkey/chicken's backside, and the reason its so succulent is it contains the uropygial gland that produces the birds preen oil. And its bloody delicious! (Even more than the skin/giblets).
Don't let the description put you off, plop it in your gob and you will see that even things which look and sound unappetising are actually very very good. He that dareth, winneth! Enjoy!

Fish Pie and Chips

At the captain's table

I never imagined mixing fish and cheese would work. Ive thrown a lot of weird and wonderful foods together in experiments (one only has to read this blog for evidence of this) but I would never have dreamedup the fish pie had it been left up to me.
Frozen fish company Young's make a great one, called the Admiral's Pie which as it says on the box is Alaska Pollock fillets with mashed potato, butter sauce and cheddar cheese. Nuke it for 10 minutes in the microwave and your ready to tuck in! I always add chips because its not a particularly filling meal if served on its own. Some however might be put off by this as being too 'potatoey'. (Not a word? It should be!)

Music to eat to ~ Kyuss, Stone Sour, Green Day

Sop

Dunked toast

Right metal moshers this could hardly be called a meal but it is an unusual (and ancient) snack so I thought it worth a quicjk mention. Sop is a slice of buttered toast dunked in a cup of tea. It was very popular at the medieval table and back then both wine and soups would replace the tea.
The word Sop is even mentioned in the Bible:

"He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a SOP, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the SOP, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon." ~ if you want to check it out its John 13:21-26

Some people don't like the idea of eating wet toast, and having butter swilling around the tea's surface but its actually not bad. If like myself you are a bigger fan of savoury foods over sweet, then Sop is much better than simply dunking chocolate biscuits into a cuppa.

Bunny Burgers

Rabbit burger with pancetta

Rabbit isn't the obvious choice to turn into burgers buttry one and you will be kicking yourself for not having thought of it sooner. Rabbit Burgers are delicious, and much more healthy than beef. Fancy it? Take a peek at this recipe.

Three decent sized bunnies will do the trick.

First joint and bone the animal, then mince it.

Add suet 1/2 box

Bung in some garlic to suit your taste.

Then throw in one Oxo cube, herbs & salt/pepper (again to your own preference)

One diced onion

One egg

Bind and mix together and cook for approx. 15mins

People who never normally eat rabbit are now conformists to these tasty burgers.