Sea, Santiago and Shortbread
Aberffraw biscuits (Teisen Berffro) recipe
The Wales Coast Path is an 870-mile trail than runs the entire length of the Welsh coastline. In fact, it’s the only such path in the world to run the full coast of a country – in Wales’s case, that means from Chepstow in Monmouthshire to Queensferry in Flintshire. Officially opened in 2012, the path hugs the coastline as best it can to afford the most incredible views of the sea and countryside, plus all manner of wildlife and terrain.
It’s my aim to walk the whole path. Not all at once, rather in pockets or stages. The path itself is split into easy-to-navigate sections and you can find the difficulty of each walk, the interesting places it passes and more on the Wales Coast Path app (also handy for tracking your route as you’re walking). In the last year, I’ve managed to do two sections, the six-mile Aberaeron to New Quay stage, and the Ogmore-by-Sea to (near enough) Port Talbot stretch.
It’s incredible how different the walks were, the latter taking me over sand dunes and beaches, the other, through green fields and cliff-top woodlands. Of course, it wouldn’t be me or The Welsh Kitchen if there wasn’t food en-route. Besides my own picnic (corned beef sandwiches, naturally), and a little foraging (there were lovely ripe blackberries on the walk near Aberaeron), the coast threw up some incredible meals and treats.
A hearty breakfast at The Cellar on the harbour side in Aberaeron set me up, while the Welsh cakes and lamb pasty from the local bakery Y Popty sustained me on the trail. It would be remiss of me not to enjoy fish and chips in New Quay, which I snaffled on the quayside (wary of the mischievous gaze of the seagulls) as dolphins breached the water’s surface near a boat off the shore.
In Porthcawl, I swung by the Home and Colonial and Jenkins Bakery for a Chelsea bun and slice of corned beef pie for my journey, and ice cream came in the form of Cadwalader’s rum and raisin as I strolled the promenade on the way to Kenfig Burrows.
I’m busy planning my next jaunts and hope that I can meet some more of the people who work along the coastline, from fishermen on the Gwent Levels, cockle pickers at Penclawydd, coracle fishers in the River Teifi, or mussel collectors in Conwy.
The Recipe
Aberffraw shortbread recipe
Talking of walking and seafood, this week’s recipe is rather apt. Aberffraw is an interesting little village on the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales. Its origins date back to Mesolithic times, but it’s probably best known for being the medieval capital of Wales – the seat of the Kings and Princes of Gwynedd. You’ll also find St Beuno’s Church, a 12th Century commission by King Gruffudd ap Cynan and his son Owain Gwynedd to replace the Cell of St Beuno, which had been establish in the 7th Century.
Since the 8th Century, pilgrimage to the church in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northern Spain has been commonplace, and there are routes that traverse the UK as part of the camino (walk/way) including in North Wales. Pilgrims on the route have always been identified by a shell motif worn on clothes, and you’ll see it present in architecture and signs on the route. Today’s recipe is a for a shortbread biscuit and thought to be one of (if not the) oldest in Britain as it dates from the 8th Century. They are also known as Cacennau Iago (James’s Cakes) after Saint James, to whom the church in Galicia is dedicated. It’s interesting to note that in both Welsh and Gallego, James is Iago – perhaps a reminder that the two nations share much Celtic heritage.
Typically, a queen scallop shell (apparently common on the beaches of Aberffraw) is used to give these their characteristic motif, but if you don’t have one lying around, you can use a fork or the end of a sharp knife to make the detail.
Ingredients (makes 12 biscuits)
50g caster sugar (plus extra for dusting)
100g softened butter
150g plain flour
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 and line a baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Sift the flour into the mix and gently combine until you have a soft dough.
Time to get your hands in! Bring the dough together with your hands and very gently knead until smooth.
Divide into 12 pieces and roll each into a ball, then flatten into a biscuit shape on the baking sheet. If using a shell, you can press it on top of each biscuit, or make an indentation with a knife or fork.
Place into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Typically, they should be very pale, but of course, it doesn’t really matter if they start to turn golden.
Remove from the oven and dust with caster sugar before eating with a cup of tea.
These are really easy to make and a great one for kids to do during the summer holidays!
If you try the recipe out, don’t forget to tag any photos with #mywelshkitchen.
The Playlist
To me, cooking and music go hand in hand, whether that’s singing at the top of your voice using a wooden spoon as a microphone while waiting for pasta to boil, or dancing around with the oven gloves on as the oven timer counts down. Here are this week’s ideas for your Welsh Kitchen playlist.
This week we have the Abba-esque stylings of South Wales sisters, The Debutantes, and the soulful sounds of Welsh singer Leon Stanford.
Heartache by The Debutantes
Broken But Complete by Leon Stanford
The Pantry
Good food is nothing without good ingredients and thankfully there are plenty of fantastic Welsh products on the market. Here is where you’ll find recommendations to stock up your cupboard, fridge or fruit bowl.
Conwy Mussels
While you can only usually buy these mussels to order and collect, it’s worth mentioning why Conwy Mussels are so special. They are not farmed, but hand-raked from the seabed in the traditional method, where they grow naturally giving these mussels protected status. They have PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) ranking, which is only given for those products produced, processed and prepared in a specific area, using a particular method. That means that if you see these brightly coloured meaty mussels on the menu, you can guarantee their quality.