Laverbread and Orange Butter Sauce
A glossy, savoury Welsh sauce combining rich laverbread with sweet orange juice and velvety butter. Perfect over sewin or lamb.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 185 kcal
Equipment
- •Small heavy saucepan
- •Whisk
- •Fine citrus zester
- •Citrus juicer
- •Measuring spoons
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 185 kcal
- fat
- 19 g
- carbs
- 4 g
- fibre
- 1 g
- protein
- 1 g
- calories
- 185 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Place the minced shallot, orange juice, orange zest, and white wine into a small saucepan over medium hob heat.
- 2
Simmer the mixture gently until the liquid reduces down to roughly two tablespoons.
- 3
Stir in the double cream and bring to a brief bubble for one minute.
- 4
Lower the hob heat to the lowest setting to prevent splitting.
- 5
Whisk in the chilled butter one cube at a time until completely glossy and emulsified.
- 6
Whisk in the laverbread until smoothly incorporated into the warm butter base.
- 7
Stir in the lemon juice, fine sea salt, and ground white pepper.
- 8
Remove from the heat and serve immediately over warm fish or roast lamb.
Chef's tips
Keep the hob heat minimal when adding the butter so the sauce does not split. Using cold, cubed butter is vital because it melts slowly and creates a silky, glossy emulsion.
Ingredient substitutions
- laverbread → finely chopped cooked spinach pureed with a splash of soy sauce or seaweed flakes
- dry white wine → light vegetable stock with half a teaspoon of white wine vinegar
Storage
Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two days.
Reheating
Reheat very gently in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water whilst whisking constantly.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Boiling the sauce after adding the butter, which will cause the emulsion to split into oil.
- •Using warm or melted butter, which prevents a proper creamy emulsion from forming.
- •Adding too much salt before tasting, as laverbread naturally carries a mild marine salinity.
Serving suggestions
Cooked Laverbread and Orange Butter Sauce?
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