If you have an interest in food, cookery, nature and spending quality time outdoors, you'll love the fascinating, delicious and wonderful world, of seaweeds.
Did You Know?
The scientific name, 'Porphyra'', is derived from a Greek word meaning 'purple-red colour' and although these colours are representative, I feel the inclusions of 'charcoal, brown and green', provide a more complete, colour profile.
The global and historical significance of Porphyra, as a nutritious and abundant food source is well documented among various cultures around the world. The Japanese, Maoris, Koreans, Chinese, Welsh and Irish, were and are, well versed in its harvesting and consumption. In the British Isles, Porphyra is commonly referred to as laver or black gold, with the Irish and Welsh boasting the longest-term relationships. In Gaelic communities laver is known as; sloke or sleabhac. among others. While teaching, out on the west coast of Ireland last year, I heard 'sleabhac' pronounced in true Gaelic for the first time, discovering that the 'bh' make a 'v' sound. It was also, while spending time around that most exquisite section of Irish coastline that I witnessed a local farmer gathering seaweeds from between the rocky crevasses of a particular beach, loading tons of washed up seaweeds into the trailer attached to the tractor: I presumed it was going to be applied as a natural fertiliser/feed for crops, I'll stop and enquire the next time I'm over there. It was a sight that I have never before seen and a lovely glow of cultural, historical nostalgia, washed over me on seeing this.
In Japan, where there is now a thriving (porphyra) industry, it goes by the common name 'nori'. That thriving industry owes sizeable thanks to 3 persons in particular and their methods and luck, eventually gave rise to the nori industry of today. Since around the 6th century, Japanese communities had successfully harvested Porphyra in the wild for making nori. Sometime around the 17th century, attempts at cultivation started to become a thing, with frustratingly, hit-and-miss results. In 1821, Jinbei Ohmiya, invented what became known as the pole method, with relative but debatable success. Then, in 1878, Bujiro Hirano, introduced a sort of transplantation technique, where the moving of bamboo poles from one area to another, covered with germinating seaweed, had shown a significant improvement in the productive capacity of the nori. There was no scientific motive behind Hirano's method, it was based purely on random luck and observational success. Then, in 1949, a British phycologist, working in North Wales, called Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker, discovered what is now known as the 'conchocelis' stage: where the algal spores burrow into bivalve shells. This discovery, coupled with the input from the methods introduced by Ohmiya and Hirano, and further cycle related studies, enabled the important and necessary, nori reproductive cycles to fully take place, eliminating the hit-and-miss pitfalls of the past. Kathleen Drew-Baker is remembered and honoured, across Japan, for her ground breaking discovery and is known as the 'Mother Of The Sea', with a festival being held in her honour, every year on the 14th of April.
Gathering Laver in the UK
Laver is one of my personal favourite seaweeds to harvest in UK coastal waters. Not only is it abundant, it is also ridiculously tasty, highly nutritious, very easy to identify and versatile in the kitchen, where it's natural magic can be applied to a wide range of dishes and preserves.
If you've never tasted laverbread, put it on your bucket list, it's delicious, nutritious and very filling, making it a breakfast of champions! Historical and cultural references state that laver was simmered for several hours or more. Thanks to a very cool tip from my friend and foraging colleague, Monica Wilde, the days of patiently stirring and applying hours of keen, stove-top focus coupled with hefty, energy source expenditure are long gone thanks, to the simple addition of apple cider vinegar. The ACV accelerates the cooking time by helping to break down the laver's cells. What once took several hours is now, approximately a 40 minute process and the employment of a hand blender, adds it's own touch of modern, speedy magic to the process.
This is a very rich and satisfying meal which you can bend the ingredients rules with. This is a version I created while on the Isle of Mull with my partner and friends while travelling the highlands and islands of western Scotland. While working in Northumberland, approximately 1 week prior, I'd happened across a field of giant puffballs, a several of them accompanied me to Scotland. I cooked and served one when visiting friends in Dumfries & Galloway and the other 2, in the oven in my van, on the Isle of Mull.
I've encountered laver in all the intertidal zones; upper, middle and lower, in all seasons, where it can be found growing on rocks, resembling unromantically so, stranded, black binbags. It can sometimes be found growing out of well compacted sand. I generally harvest laver during the colder, winter months (seriously hardcore foraging - so wrap up warm!) and also the early spring months, as these are when I usually find myself coinciding certain trips, in order to gather other, specific seaweed species, such as young Sea Spaghetti, Pepper Dulse and Kelp. From experience, I would recommend gathering Laver from rocks, close to the low tide mark, to reduce the occurence of sand particles attached to the seaweed. Never gather seaweeds from busy harbours or ports, where pollutants are more likely.
Nutrition
Making Laverbread:
The following recipe has become one of my annual, spring staples, which I bulk make then freeze for a longer lasting, plentiful supply.
Thanks to my fellow foraging friend, Monica Wilde for the ACV tip.
Laverbread Patties
1kg Fresh Laver (well rinsed to remove sand particles)
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Small porridge oats (optional for bulking)
Pinhead oatmeal
Black pepper
Chipotle Chilli (optional)
(The addition of lacto-fermented wild garlic or few flowered leek, mixes nicely with these laverbreads)
Place the seaweed in a saucepan, with the residual spring water it contains from the sand exclusion process, along with the ACV and, over a gentle heat, start to cook it, stirring frequently, if not continuously. After approximately 40 minutes, you'll start to notice small pieces of the seaweed attaching to the spatula: the vinegar is working. Keep stirring for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and if you wish to (laver stock)
keep add a quantity of the porridge oats, the lacto-ferment and season to taste. Weigh the mix and then portion into equal sizes (personal preference). Take each ball in turn, roll between your palms and then gently pat into discs. Pop each one, in turn, onto a small plate covered with the pinhead oatmeal. Place the finished patties onto a baking tray and then freeze overnight. Next day wrap 4 or 5 patties in greaseproof paper, twisting the ends and then tie them up with string. Place back in freezer until ready to use.
To cook, simply defrost patties in the fridge overnight, place in a hot pan with a little oil, fry for 5 minutes, flip and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with a fried or poached egg on top (a runny yolk is obligatory and essential) and a couple of rashers of crispy bacon on the side. For a more traditional take, serve with the above, adding some sweet pickled or fresh cockles - seriously yum!
These days, I tend to substitute 50% of the fresh laver, by adding 500g of rehydrated, smoked laver)
Laver Stock: This delightful tasting liquor is a by-product of making laverbread. Excess cooking liquid is drained from the cooked seaweed, this is then reduced to intensify and concentrate the overall flavour. The finished stock can be frozen in ice cube trays and those little flavour bombs can be used to pimp up soups, stocks and sauces.
Stuffed Giant Puffball w/ Venison, Porphyra, Pine Nut & Wild Spices
1 Medium or 2 Smaller Giant Puffballs
12 Rashers Smoked Streaky Bacon
1 Onion (very finely chopped)
3 Cloves Garlic (micro-planed)
500g Venison Mince (or beef or lamb, whichever you prefer)
Toasted pine nuts or hazel nuts (if using hazels, toast in a hot oven, crushing them with a knife once cooled)
Double Cream
Dried Laver Seaweed (5g per small puffball or 10g per larger puffball)
Thyme Sprigs
Bay Leaf
Toasted Scots Lovage Seed Powder*
Toasted Hogweed Seed Powder*
Black Pepper and/or White Pepper (or dried/preserved pepper dulse seaweed)
Sea Salt
* In the absence of scots lovage and hogweed seed powders, try a mix of nutmeg and sweet cinnamon, or mace and sweet cinnamon powders - don't over do these spices, they are very strong and you want just a delicate hint of them coming through)
Slice the top most section off each puffball and set them aside (you will replace these 'lids' later). Very carefully and precisely, hollow them out, ensuring to retain a 1/2 inch thick wall to prevent them collapsing when cooking, then put them to one side.
Thinly slice 1 or 2 rashers of the bacon and fry off in a saucepan pan until just browning.
Add the onion, frying gently until soft and translucent. Add a knob of butter, melt, then add the garlic, cook for 2 minutes, remove pan from the heat.
In a separate sauce pan, fry the venison mince, this should take no longer than 5 minutes.
Add the cooked bacon/onion/garlic to the venison and mix well.
Add the pine nuts/hazels, seaweed, spices, herbs and double cream.
Gently heat everything together, until the meat liquid and cream thicken up (you don't want too runny a cream sauce).
Once satisfied with the consistency, add some sea salt, taste and if required, add more seasoning.
Pop the hollowed out mushrooms into a metal, ovenproof tray (slicing the thinnest of sections off their bottoms to help sit them in a more balanced fashion), fill with the mixture, removing bay leaves/thyme stalks) and then cover with the lids.
Place rashers of streaky bacon across the puffballs and pop in the oven (if you have a sizeable, fresh piece of sugar kelp, you can wrap that around the entire puffball/s, removing it some 25 minutes into cooking).
Bake at 180C for approximately 45 minutes, ensuring contents are piping hot prior to serving. Enjoy!
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