Cockles and laverbred

[Tom]

Here's a typical Welsh breakfast:

• Fry bacon in a frying pan.
• Use the remaining bacon fat from the frying pan to cook (re-heat) laverbred.
• Also in the bacon fat, fry a slice of bread (aka fried bread).
• Serve with cockles (baby clams) and fried eggs.

Never heard of laverbred? It's seaweed that has been washed, chopped and cooked. Click here for an explanation of this staple in a Welshman's diet.

Enjoy!

 

[Pat]

Eeww.  Lost me on the seaweed and clams.

--pat

 

[Tom]

It's an acquired taste  ;D

 

[Tom]

On occasion I will mix leftover mashed potatoes with spinach and fry it in bacon fat for breakfast along with eggs. You could probably do the same with laverbred - or would that be sacreligious?

Which bit could I do the same Karl? Frying (re-heating) laverbred in the bacon fat is a defnite must-do, but I've never eaten mashed potatoes or spinach with it  ;D

For the "who eats seaweed?" folks, it's a staple in a Welshman's diet. When you realize this small country is surrounded on 3 sides by water, it's natural that seafood is a big part of the diet. Of course, the Japanese eat lots of seaweed, but they serve it as small, paper-thin slices with a cellulose look. A Welshman prefers a large dollop on the plate, kinda like serving up mashed potatoes with an oversized spoon.

 

[Karl]

Tom,

I was referring to mixing the laverbred with mashed potatoes and frying it like pancakes.

Someone recently told the story of a new bride, frustrated by the difficulty in making masahed potatoes - until one of her friends told her they must be cooked first ;D

 

[Tom]

mixing the laverbred with mashed potatoes and frying it like pancakes.

Now that would spoil a good meal.

 

[Pat]

The new bride story reminds me of the first meal I ever cooked.  It was hamburger and potato hash.  Who knew one should cook the potatoes longer?  The hamburger was tiny petrified pellets by the time the potatoes were done.  Gave some people a good laugh, I guess.  Serves them right for not telling me how to make it.  They had to eat the stuff.

--pat