Ham and barley stew and Oatcakes with dulse by Ragnhildr Freysteinndottir

Ham and barley stew and Oatcakes with dulse

by Ragnhildr Freysteinndottir

I have the last of the Christmas ham left, just the hock. Not wanting to cook in the heat, I decided to put it in the slow cooker as an alternative to the cookpot at the edge of the fire method.  I threw in two leeks sliced in rounds, one and a half cups of  pearl barley, a good pinch of brown mustard seeds and a small pinch of ground celery seeds. All Danelaw probable and totally acceptable for a meal today.

I am putting together some Anglo-Saxon recipes for a friend, and as it is late summer here and not quite growing season, I thought to make some oatcakes with dried dulse, ie using items from the stores.  Following a sourdough idea suggested by Elizabeth David in her book ‘Bread and Yeast Cookery’, I mixed a cup of rolled oats with some warm water and left it in a covered bowl for four hours in the warm kitchen.

I couldn’t find gluten-free oatmeal, so ground up two cups of ‘uncontaminated rolled oats’ in the food processor. To that I added the cup of oats set aside earlier, now mushy, three tablespoons (or so) of dried and shredded dulse, one egg and a good slosh of oat milk.  My reasoning was that while a chicken may be laying, the milk from cows or goats (if there were any) would be quarantined for the ill or for butter. It may also have to do with the dietary requirements of the person the oatcakes are destined for.

The batter was thicker than a usual pancake batter, more like an Indian besan flour pokhara batter.  I heated up my Le cruset pan to quite hot with a little olive oil (not having dripping) and dropped about half a cup of batter into the centre.

The  cakes rose a little and a re lighter in texture than I though they would be and the dulse not quite as salty. Next batch will have extra salt added.

I tried to spread some batter out and cook two or three very slowly to see if I could achieve a griddle baked crisp bread. The ten minutes or so each side wasn’t quite enough. More experimentation is needed.

This batch made 10 small oatcakes that will go well with rose hip mush, honey or lingonberry jam.  I should also add that a I made these oatcakes with oat milk, that they are dairy free and gluten free.

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