I've mentioned how ravenous I become for true Italian food when I read Andrea Camilleri Inspector Montalbano books.
I've been making various simple pastas, as a result. The Inspector eats a lot of fish, on his breaks from solving crime and dealing with his coworkers and personal afflictions. Among the fish he consumes-- sardines, anchovies and mullets. I was looking up how to cook a red mullet Italian style, whole fish, not that I will do that, but got sidetracked, down a rabbit hole.
Welsh food! I have Welsh in my heritage (along with about everything else).
When a recipe called for Laverbread, I looked it up. Everythings' better with laverbread. So they say. Somewhere.
Laver is a type of seaweed that can be collected along the coastline there. You wash it twice to let the sand settle out of it, from every crack and fold. Then you boil it and boil it and then, mix in some oatmeal--it is eaten after fried in bacon fat in a Welsh bacon, Laverbread and eggs breakfast. Some critics claim laverbread looks and tastes like fried cow manure.
Sometimes laverbread breakfast includes cockles. They're a small bivalve found in the sand along beaches and not unlike our mussels and clams.
Ok then, what is Rarebit? Welsh rabbit. Well it is nothing to do with a rabbit and is more like our cheese toast.
Some critics claim laverbread looks and tastes like fried cow manure. I ask myself how they know what fried cow manure tastes like. And shudder.
ReplyDeleteThat is one very good point, EC, lol. I hate to think of how they might know that.
DeleteThey did a Good Eats episode on Rarebit. That's the only reason I know what that is. As for the seaweed, I imagine they needed the foodstuffs. It doesn't sound appetizing. But I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteIt does not sound appetizing. However I do like snack Nori and tuna flakes. Maybe I'd like it, who knows. But fried in bacon fat, I don't think so.
DeleteLaver bread sounds like an acquired taste to me. But I'm not a seafood person, so maybe I'm not the one to judge. However, I just put the first Inspector Montalbano book on hold at the library. My husband is between books and would like a new mystery series. This may fill the bill.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great series, L and L, so I hope he likes it. It's no he man do it all guns a blaring one. I don't like those so much. I don't like most seafood either. I eat sardines once a week, for their health benefit (they're as good as salmon for health but a dollar a tin).
DeleteThe laverbread might be better if the seaweed is left out. It sounds like there were once some very hungry Welsh.
ReplyDeleteThen you're left with a spoonful of bacon fat fried oatmeal. But its ugly looking food and my guess is ugly tasting too.
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