Welsh Lava Bread
In the sea it thrives, of dark sticky richness, Health giving plenty
Barra lawr in Welsh, Lava Bread (Prophyra Umbilicatis) is one of my favourite breakfast eats. Lava bread is very good for health; containing iron and iodine, plus 50 known other minerals. Also, it contains Vitamin A, C and D, as well as some Vitamin B-Complexes. (herbs-treatandtaste.blogspot.com)
I used to forage for Lava Bread at the Gower Coast, its easy to gather, but does take patience to thoroughly clean and de-grit as much as possible. Inevitably, some grit always remains, however, still well worth it on its own or mixed with Sea Lettice and Sea Aster.
Lava Bread is not a looker, with the meconium visual assertiveness, it butts against the notion of eyes eat first. Like the old Chinese saying, “eat bitter for good vitality”. The juxtaposition of Lava Bread to other foods, should have a place in our gastronomically diverse and health conscious heart.
I use a 200mm de Buyer non-stick pan for creating Lava Bread breakfast, because the cooked combo will slide effortlessly onto the plate and is a perfect portion for a single helping. Let’s go with tinned Sardines as the topping for this article, it will take about 5 minutes until it’s ready for eating.
I start with warming 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan, mid to low heat. Then empty a tin of Lava Bread to pan and gently poke and distribute the Lava Bread to cover the base of the pan, non-metal chopsticks are perfect for this, otherwise any non-metallic utensils.
The baseline taste of the lava can be off-set by adding a strip of salted anchovy before cracking an egg on to the centre of the pan, use the chopsticks to lightly drag the egg white on an outward spiral, this can be an opportunity to do visual enhancement to the dish, then lightly sprinkle white pepper and let it gently bubble for a minute or 2.
Open a tin of Sardines in Oil and use the chopsticks to place the fish on the Lava and push in to half depth of the fish, like fish swimming in a dappled pond. Remove the pan from heat and allow the fish to be warmed through gently from residual heat.
I like the taste to be quite neutral, so I can taste the Lava Bread a bit more, with gentle cooking the dish is moist and enriched by the runny yolk, a squeeze of lemon juice also adds a little taste peak. I tend to pair the lava bread dish with either rye or sourdough toast drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil.
With the humble origin of Lava Bread, inevitably there will be the occasional small grit in a mouthful, so be prepared for the fractional crunchy sensation, its just inert quartz or other silica sand, I would say, the grains generally less than 0.1mm in particle size. In Civil Engineering context, when viewed on the Particle Size Distribution Curve, it lands in the zone of Sand to Silt.
Other toppings I added to the Lava Bread and swirly egg canvas are, seared Welsh streaky bacon, Black Pudding or Iberico Pork Lardo is particularly luxurious. Of course, the classic with fresh Cockles or Muscles gives that lovely briny seaside taste. Tinned smoked Muscles and Oysters are a highly worthwhile additions. To me, a simile can be drawn in the visual curation of the topping from the painting technique Chiaroscuro in Diego Velasquez’s Paintings, to culturally high bar a Lava Bread breakfast dish a little.
I think, my girls are not emotionally ready for Lava Bread yet, pre-teens tend to be more visual with their food, but they do learn and understand the beauty beneath the darkness, which harmonises quite well with the girls current psyche.
My wife under duress will partake in the Lava Bread breakfast, but being an understanding husband the occasional dollop is a fair marital commitment from her, then as an Egger, she will gallop back to the boiled egg on rye bread toast immediately.
The look of food is an important factor, I would say in equal amount, is the perception of food as a populist narrative. It is very in trend still to eat ‘Sushi’ as a preferred lunch choice or posh dinning experience, where seaweed is used as an integral element to create many dishes. Of course seaweeds are part of the gastronomic tradition in China, Korea and South Asia, appreciated for its taste and health giving properties. Its popularity is a positive trend, as it is sustainable food source and contributes significantly to the marine eco-system.
On my overseas deployments to north west Africa, I introduced seaweed snacks during my mid morning project team huddle, where the fondness for a seaweed snack was a much welcomed diversion to the technical discussions and day to day problem solving.
The eating and enjoyment of Lava Bread is a conscious life choice, in my case, in front of the bewildering eyes of my family, with non-judgemental acceptance of my freedom to choose.
Civil engineer, technical nomad and chef to four daughters.
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