Cockle Pie with Welshman's Caviar (Wales)

In Wales, one of the oldest occupations found along the coastline is cockle gathering, a task which archaeological evidence suggests dates back to at least the Roman era.As Welsh as it gets, a beautiful winter warmer. Penclawdd (pronounced Pen-clawth), a seaside village in Swansea, Wales, on the Gower Penninsula, is renowned for its local cockle industry. The Welsh clams are collected from the extensive sandy flats in the Burry Estuary and then sold worldwide as the famous "Penclawdd (or Gower) cockles."

Welsh sea black butter (35 g)
smoked bacon (225 g)
½ onion
all-purpose flour, unbleached (35 g)
1 egg
cockles (225 g)
2 Tbsp. Welshman's Caviar
single cream
puff pastry
1 pinch white pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

Melt the butter in the pan and slowly cook the diced onion and bacon until slightly caramelized. Add the flour and stir, cooking the flour through for a couple of minutes. Slowly pour in the cream until you have a fairly thick smooth sauce. Add the Welshman's Caviar and a pinch of white pepper as well as the cooked fresh cockles.

Place mixture into an oven proof dish and cut a puff pastry disk to place on top.

Brush with egg and cut a little hole in the pastry disc before placing into preheated oven.

Cook for around 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and puffed.

Cook's Notes:  Welshman's caviar is handpicked laver seaweed from the Pembrokeshire coast which has been dried and toasted to bring out its unique depth of flavour.