Sea Vegetables
100 recipes from the ocean
Sea Vegetables
and How to Cook Them recipe genre 3
Published under RocketFuel, Bath, 2018. ISBN 1234567890
Contents Introduction
5
Knowing your sea veg
6
Sides Potato Salad with Sea Lettuce
10
Superfood Slaw with Kelp
11
Mains Crab and Samphire Salad
12
Desserts Shony Shortbread
14
Ingredients Index
16
Know Your Sea Vegetables There are actually many varieties of edible sea plants, all with different health benefits and nutritional composition. From blue, green and red algae to kelp and other types of salty seaweed, there are so many reasons to consider including some sea vegetables in your diet, and so many ways to incorporate them. These pages explore the seaweeds used throughout this book so you feel confident with your new ingredients.
Foraging
Foraging for seaweed is both releaxing and rewarding; spending time at one with nature and ending up with fresh ingredients for dinner all year round. Better still, there are no toxic seaweeds that can be picked on foot in UK waters, so foraging can be undertaken without fear of poisoning (just ensure you ask the beach owner for permission first). When foraging be mindful to treat seaweeds with the same respect you would land-based plants and trees, taking no more than you need, and respecting them as food and home for a great many other fascinating and ecologically important species: - Never pull seaweeds from the rocks. This is equivalent to uprooting plants – and you don’t get any root! Using a sharp knife or scissors, cut only the top third of any individual growth. This will allow it to regrow. - Spread your picking around rather than stripping a whole rock of its jungle. It may be a rockpool to you, but it’s a universe to a shrimp. - Be mindful of potentially rare species. If you don’t recognise it and it doesn’t seem to be abundant, take only enough for ID purposes – if any. New species of marine algae are being discovered all the time – who knows, you might be able to put your name to one!
6
K
Samphire
Marsh samphire has vibrant green stalks, similar to baby asparagus, with a distinctively crisp and salty taste. High in dietary fiber and vitamin A, B, and C as well as containing anti-inflammatory effects.
Red Dulse
Hand gathered at low tide, dulse has a rich, salty taste. High in iron, calcium, magnesium, and a perfect meaty addition to savoury meals.
Kelp
Kelp is most commonly found in its dried form; soaking it for several minutes makes it pliable and edible. Kombu and Wakame are popular forms, but all kelp is wonderfully high in iodine.
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Potato Salad wirh Sea Lettuce Serves 4 Cooking Time 15 mins
Potato salad is a perennial favourite all year round, whether to brighten up a barbeque or use up those leftover spuds from a Sunday roast. Sea lettuce blends especially well with the butter and lemon zest in this warm salad, whilst the soft skinned potatoes absorb the dressing perfectly.
-- 1kg new season potatoes -- 150g salted butter -- 1 tbsp dried sea lettuce -- 1 tbsp lemon juice -- Zest of one lemon -- A few leaves of purslane, cress or other small salad leaf
SCRUB the potatoes with a brush to remove as much of their thin skins as possible. Put them in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about five minutes. Test the potatoes with a knife – they are perfectly cooked when the knife penetrates the outer flesh easily but they feel slightly waxy and firm in the middle. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the potatoes to sit in the water for three minutes. They will carry on cooking gently, but this will stop the skins bursting. MELT the butter, then add the sea lettuce, lemon juice and zest. Taste for salt (though it is unlikely that you will need to add any). Dress the potatoes, then scatter the leaves on top. SERVE as a side with grilled fish, chicken or lamb. If you want to eat this as a main, add soft-boiled eggs and a few slivers of anchovy.
8 
Superfood Slaw with Kelp Serves 4 Prep Time 15 mins
Vivid green kelp and kale jostle for space alongside the vibrant explosions of red and scarlet produced by the pomegranate seeds and goji berries. This is the ideal coleslaw to be kept in the fridge as the hardy greens do not wilt easily, just add the pine nuts before serving. -- 1 bunch kale -- 1 small red cabbage -- 2 carrots, shredded -- 200g kelp -- 300g shelled edamame beans -- 175g pomegranate seeds -- 100g goji berries -- 4 tbsp olive oil -- Salt and pepper to taste -- 70g pine nuts (to garnish) THINLY slice the kale and the cabbage, before mixing with the remaining ingredients (bar the pine nutes). SPRINKLE the olive oil into the bowl, alongside salt and pepper to seaon, and toss well. Add the goji berries, being careful not to burst the scarlet jewels. TOAST the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes, shaking the pan often. Remove from the heat once a golden brown colour and scatter across the top of the salad. SERVE as a side to cold meats or cheeses, or as a smart accompaniment to jacket potatoes.
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Crab and Samphire Salad Serves 4 Cooking Time 15 mins
Make this summer salad to celebrate the brief samphire season. The preparation is simple but the result is a great combination of bright mint, salty samphire and fresh crab. Spider crab has a lovely light, sweet flavour, but if you can't find it use brown crab instead.
-- 180g samphire -- 1 lemon, zest and juice -- 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced -- Small handful mint leaves, chopped -- 1 baby gem lettuce, leaves separated and roughly torn -- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil -- 100g fresh white spider crab meat -- 10 blanched hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
COOK the samphire in a pan of boiling water for 1 minute, drain and plunge into a bowl of cold water. Once cool, drain well and put into a large bowl. ADD the lemon zest and juice with the sliced fennel (and the fronds if it has any), mint and lettuce leaves. Toss everything together with the olive oil and plenty of seasoning, then lightly fold through ½ the crab meat. DIVIDE this between four plates and then top with the remaining crab, the toasted hazelnuts and a splash more olive oil, if liked.
10 
Shony Shortbread Serves 16 Cooking Time 40 mins It may be surprising that seaweed works well in dessert, but these shortbread biscuits are sure to change even the most skeptical of minds. Shony seaweed is a Scottish four-variety mix that creates a breathtaking seasoning of purplered, light and dark green flakes named after the Hebridean sea god. -- 175g unsalted butter -- 90g demerera sugar -- 1 tbsp shony dried seaweed -- 270g plain flour -- 100g dark chocolate
USE a standing mixer to cream the butter until pale and fluffy. ADD the sugar and mix for a further five minutes. ADD the shony and flour, mixing slowly. Turn the mixture out on to the worktop and form it into a round about 5cm thick. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for two hours. PREHEAT the oven to 170C/gas mark 3½, and line a 12cm cake tin with baking parchment. Roll out the dough to fit the tin. Push it into the tin and make indentations around the edge with your fingers. Prick the shortbread disc with a fork, then score it in the places where you will cut or break it after cooking. BAKE for 20 to 30 minutes, until pale brown. Melt the chocolate and spread across the top once cool, or sprinkle caster sugar, if preferred. CUT into pieces with a sharp knife.
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Health Notes Seaweed contains a unique combination of all 56 vitamins, minerals, electrolytes and trace elements essential for human health, absorbed directly from sunlight and the ocean: a truly natural, pure superfood. CALCIUM: Seaweed is one of the best vegetable sources of calcium, as it’s more absorbable than in supplements. IODINE: Iodine is critical to thyroid hormone production. The thyroid maintains your metabolism, mood, memory, heart health and body temperature, as well as healthy skin and hair. POTASSIUM: helps to maintain normal blood pressure and improves cardiovascular health. FIBRE: Boosts your metabolism and promotes good gut health. Alginates in seaweed act as a bulking agent, slowing fat absorption. PROTEIN: Sea vegetables are also a great way to supplement protein intake for vegetarians and vegans. SALT: Seaweed contains 85% less sodium than table salt, which is just the right amount for the correct balance of body fluids. FATIGUE REDUCTION:Contains iron, magnesium and B Vitamins, all of which help to reduce tiredness. Iron oxygenates the blood, while magnesium and B Vitamins help the body deal with stress. IMMUNITY BOOST: Sea vegetables benefit from containing both vitamin C and iron, as vitamin C helps the body to absorb iron. Along with B vitamins they work together to boost the immune system. POST-EXERCISE RECOVERY: Magnesium and electrolytes reduces muscle cramps, while protein contributes to muscle building.
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Ingredients Index United Kingdom
Often the most daunting aspect of cooking with a new ingredient is knowing where to buy it for assured quality and taste. Dried seaweed and sea vegetable seasoning is becoming more widely available in supermarkets, but specific mixes such as Shony Seaweed or sea vegetable varieties such as Dulse are only avaiable from specific suppliers. Below is a list of the suppliers used throughout this book, all sustainability credits but feel free to buy wherever you see fit. ,
Cornish Sea Salt Company - Seaweed seasonings, flavoured sea salt flakes perfect for seasoning. https://www.cornishseasalt. co.uk/collections/flavoured-sea-salt
Mara Seaweed - Founders of the Shony and Furikake mix, also sell dried and flavoured dulse, kelp. https://maraseaweed.com/collections/products. The mixes are also stocked in some Morrisons.
The Cornish Seaweed Company - Seaweed flakes, seaweed salt, organic dulse, kelp and sea spaghetti amongst others. https:// www.cornishseaweed.co.uk/shop/
Waitrose - Seasonal mixed sea vegetables, fresh Samphire. Stores nationwide or http://www.waitrose.com
Foraging Galloway Wild Foods - Events, guided walks and tuition all led by Mark Williams. http://www.gallowaywildfoods.com
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Foraging
United Kingdom We have compiled our favourire places to forage for sea veg across the UK, but these are by no means limits to abide by. Each location listed below is ideal for individual foraging, but also houses a company dedicated to finding and cooking with the vegetables of the ocean.
Cornwall
Sennen Cove: With a long, sandy beach and small harbour the village combines a working fishing port with laid back surf style. Especially ideal for green sea vegetable gatherers. To get you started: Fat Hen, The Wild Cookery School.
Scotland
Galloway: 200 miles of deserted sandy bays and wooded shores punctuated by cliffs creates the perfect playgroud for foragers. To get you started: Galloway Wild Foods.
Dorst
Studland Bay: situated on the Jurassic Coast, Studland comprises a long sandy peninsula with salt marshes on one side and a stretch of sandy shore on the other, each housing different sea vegetables. To get you started: Fore / Adventure.
Ireland
Caherdaniel: located on the pristine coastline of the Wild Atlantic Way, Caherdaniel supports a host a different sea vegetables. To get you started: Atlantic Irish Seaweed.
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sea vegetables are the undiscovered gems of the ocean From emerald green samphire to the vibrant red of the dulse plant, beautiful sea vegetables have been somewhat ignored over recent years. From a crab and samphire starter to Shony shortbread, Sea Vegetables showcases not only the best of these ingredients, but also the simplest, quickest and easiest ways to incorporate them into everyday cooking.
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