Seren’s Seaweed Bubble and Squeak


If you are a lover of traditional foods and feeling squeamish about eating green, slimy things or struggle with getting greens into little tummies then my mash potato is a must for you.


This recipe is fantastic served with fish, but also works really well with Glamorgan sausages.


500g mashed potato 225g laverbread (prepared and cooked) 30g unsalted butter Juice of half a lemon 1 egg yolk 100g grated cheddar Salt and pepper to season


Method: Peel and cook the potatoes in unsalted water. Once cooked, drain and mash with the butter. Beat in the egg yolk and seaweed. Stir in the grated cheese and season to taste. Serve immediately.


Seaweed and strawberry smoothie


Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals. They have diuretic, purifying and detoxifying properties. In addi- tion, red fruits are recommended and beneficial for asthma and allergy problems. Add this to all the fabu- lous mineral qualities of seaweed and we have a smoothie that is a powerful tonic that will allow us to eliminate accumulated toxins and start the day full of energy


5 strawberries, hulled 1 tea cup of rice, oats or almonds milk 1 tablespoon of cooked seaweed (I use laver) 1 twist of lemon Pinch sea salt


Method: Cut the strawberries into pieces, add a pinch of sea salt and let it marinate for 20 minutes.


Mix rice, almond or oats milk with the strawberries in a liquidiser. Add the seaweed and lemon and liquidise again. Serve over ice


the ingredients of umami and an absolute must for the creation of a true Celtic breakfast. Once cooked, it can be used in soups, fish stews or made into traditional Welsh laverbread oatcakes that then get fried in bacon fat and served with cockles. Laverbread has a strong Welsh identity


and is not to be confused with other sea- weeds. Indeed, this seaweed is so strongly Welsh that it is now a culinary delight pro- tected by the European Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, which provides consumers with the confi- dence that they are eating the genuine arti- cle in exactly the same way that Cornish pasties and Melton Mowbray pork pies are protected. Laverbread has a very long history and is


a unique product as its taste and appear- ance are affected by the cleanliness and temperature of the seawater, as well as the method of producing it, making it a char- acteristic of its origin. Collecting the laver, a type of seaweed,


to make Welsh laverbread was a small cot- tage industry in Pembrokeshire, dating back to 1800. Te laver was thrown over thatched huts to dry before being sold to businesses in Swansea where it was cooked into Welsh laverbread and sold at local


8 FOCUS The Magazine March/April 2020


markets. Laverbread was very popular with the South Wales miners – known then as ‘bara lawr’ – making for a healthy component in their diet and supplying their bodies with essential vitamins. Today, laverbread is not as popular as it


was in the early nineteenth century but it maintains its tradition of being sold in Swansea. On my quest to learn more about laverbread and how best to eat it, I headed off to Swansea, which has a large and bustling indoor market. Te market is a thriving hub of this city and the Cockle Rotunda stands as the jewel in its crown. It is owned and run by the Swiston and over the years has built up an enviable reputation for quality seafood and fish in- cluding mussels, whelks, seafood cock- tails, jellied eels and of course the popular staples of fresh cockles and laverbread! Carole Watts, who runs the stall and is the third generation of her family to do so, explains that laverbread is best served hot and is delicious spread on toast. Te laverbread for sale on the cockles


and shellfish stall is black with a green hue and it became obvious to me as I gazed at its dark appearance why it is sometimes referred to as ‘black gold’. For me, laver- bread is not a delicacy to be eaten cold, I


The Green Goddess


1 frozen banana peeled and chopped ¼ pineapple including core chopped 300ml cold water 2 tablespoons of laver seaweed 2 tsp local honey


Method: Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth, pour into a glass and enjoy immediately.


© Seren Charrington-Hollins


found its salty, soft texture much better hot and some of the Swansea market regu- lars suggest that I take some home and make Laverbread Bake: a hot mixture of laverbread, cockles, bacon and onion, topped with melted cheese that is served with wedges of hot buttered toast. It sounded delicious and my version cer- tainly makes the most of the fresh cockles and laverbread purchased from Swansea Market. If you don’t have time to pop over to


Swansea Market or have a spare 10 hours to boil it up, Parsons Pickles produce, among other things, laver seaweed in a tin. Parsons Pickles sells a type found on the western coast of the British Isles, growing on beaches where rocks are em- bedded in sand. Te seaweed is harvested by Penclawdd Shellfish Processing, which isn’t an easy task as laver attaches itself to the rocks by a ‘hold-fast,’ making it labo- rious to collect. After picking, it is washed thoroughly to remove the sand, then cooked before being minced to make a smooth, paté-type texture. Traditionally the seaweed was collected and hand washed before being cooked in boiling pans over coal fires, although today the process is done using the latest technology


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