Seaweed, which requires neither fresh water nor fertilizer, is one of the world’s most sustainable and nutritious crops
Seaweeds are an important source of iodine and mineral salts, they are rich in proteins and vitamins, and they have been used since ancient times as an healthy food
recipes and food styling: Alessandra Avallone
SAUTED SMALL SPELT (EINKORN) WITH KOMBI, LEEK AND EGGS
Preparation time: 1 hour
for 4 serving:
- 250 g einkorn (soak it for 4 hours in cold water)
- 20 g hijiki seaweed
- 1 big leek
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons sherry
- 2 tablespoons shoyu sauce
- vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon umeboshi vinegar
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
Boil the einkorn in salted hot water. After 30 minutes, if it’s ready, drain it, put it back in the saucepan, cover it with a lid and allow it to swell for 10 minutes.
Rehydrate the seaweeds in cold water for 30 minutes, drain them, add 1 tablespoon of shoyu sauce, 1 tablespoon of umeboshi vinegar and half a cup of vegetable broth. Let the mixture stew for 15 minutes covering the saucepan with its lid until seaweeds becomes soft. You can store them in your fridge in their pot liquor for a few days.
Slice the leek, sauté it in a pan with the garlic and 2 tablespoons of oil, add salt and put it in a dish.
Beat the eggs with 2 pinches of salt and the sherry. Heat up a tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan, pour the eggs in, cook them until they are almost dried, then break them up, add the seaweeds with 2 to 3 tablespoons of their broth, the leeks and the einkorn. Let the dish develop more flavor for some minutes before serving.
DULSE SEAWEED CROQUETTES
preparation time: 45 minutes
for 4 serving:
- 110 g oat flakes
- 40 g whole wheat flour
- 25 g dulse seaweeds
- 1 carrot
- 1 zucchini
- 1 small white onion
- Salt
- Peanut oil for frying
for the sauce
- 3 cm fresh ginger
- 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon shoyu sauce
Rehydrate the dulse seaweeds in lukewarm water, drain them keeping the water, and chop them roughly. Mix the oat flakes, the flour, the carrot and the zucchini – only the external green portion – which you previously grated using a large hole grater, the chopped onion, the seaweeds and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add 1 dl of the water you kept and stir until the ingredients are well blended. Let the batter stand for 10 to 15 minutes so that the oat flakes absorb some of the liquid. Prepare small croquettes – of the same size of a big nut -, lightly flatten them, and fry them in hot oil. Drain them and let them dry on a piece of paper towel. Prepare the sauce mixing the lemon juice, the shoyu sauce and the grated ginger. Serve the croquette hot or warm with the sauce.
SPIRULINA ENERGY TRUFFLES
preparation time: 15 minutes + 1 hour for soaking the dates
for 24 to 30 truffles:
- 100 g dried apricots
- 140 g almonds
- 30 g pistachios
- 25 g dehydrated coconut
- 150 g dates
- 30 g linseed flour
- 2 tablespoons bitter cocoa powder
- 10 g spirulina
- For the coating
- 2 tablespoons dried coconut
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons spirulina powder
- 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
- 2 tablespoons mixed seaweeds flakes
Blend the almonds, the pistachios, and the coconut. Let the dates soften in lukewarm water for 1 hour and keep the water. Pit them and put them in a blender with 4 spoons of the water and the apricots. Blend them and then add the grounded almonds, pistachios and coconut mixture. Put the batter in a bowl, add a tablespoon of spirulina, the cocoa and the linseed flour. If the mixture is too thick, add a little bit of water. Let it rest in a cool place for 15 minutes. Then wet your hands to form some truffles and roll them in the coatings. You can store the truffles in a cool place for up to 1 week.
SEAWEED SALT
Toast 10 g of wakame seaweed in the oven for 5 minutes or until crispy. Break the seaweeds into pieces and grind them into a powder. Add 2 tablespoons of Maldon or Cyrpus flake salt. Store the seasoning in a jar and use it to flavor your dishes.
KOMBU AND CARROTS SALAD IN TOFU SAUCE
preparation time: 50 minutes
for 4 serving:
- 2 carrots
- 4 square sheets kombu (10 cm x 10 cm)
- 200 g tofu
- shoyu sauce
- umeboshi vinegar
- soft unrefined brown sugar
- rice vinegar
- vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon white sesame or wasabi sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon tahini cream
- cold pressed peanut oil
- salt
- 1 teaspoon seaweed mix in flakes (they come in ready-made packages and are used to season vegetables, rice and pasta)
Wash the seaweeds and put them in a casserole. Cover them with water, cook for about 40 minutes over low heat, let them cool, and cut them in very thin stripes. Grate the carrots, mix them with the seaweeds and season the salad adding a pinch of sugar, a tablespoon of soy sauce and a tablespoon of rice vinegar.
Parboil the tofu in boiling water for 2 minutes, drain it and put it under a weight for 30 minutes to eliminate the excess liquid. Take half of the tofu and cut it into stripes. Dry them and fry them in hot peanut oil until crispy and golden. Blend the rest of the tofu with the tahini cream, 2 tablespoons of shoyu sauce, a pinch of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of umeboshi vinegar. Add salt to taste and blend to obtain a creamy and uniform sauce, adding some tablespoons of vegetable broth to get the perfect texture.
Add the fried tofu to the salad. Put 2 tablespoons of tofu cream on the dishes, add the salad and sprinkle it with the mix of seaweeds and the white or wasabi sesame. Serve the remaining sauce separately: it’s delicious on bread or with raw vegetables too.
RICE WITH WAKAME AND SPRING PEAS
preparation time: 30 minutes
for 4 serving:
- 350 g basmati rice
- 400 g shelled peas
- 2 kombu seaweed sheets
- 2 tablespoons saké
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
Toast the kombu seaweed in the oven at 120°C for 10-15 minutes. Let it cool and crumble it using your hands. Sear the peas in boiling salted water for 2 to 3 minutes. Cook the rice in double the amount of water, saké and a pinch of salt until all the liquid is absorbed. When the liquid starts boiling, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 8 minutes. Turn the heat off, add the peas, put the lid and let the rice rest for 10 minutes. Stir and season with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the kombu seaweed.
NORI SEAWEED TEMPURA
preparation time: 15 minutes
for 4 serving:
- 4 nori seaweed sheets
- Peanut oil for frying
- Salt
For the batter
- 100 g semi-whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2.4 dl ice-cold sparkling water
- Salt
For the sauce
- 3 cm fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons shoyu sauce
- 4 tablespoons water
Toast the nori seaweed sheets in a hot pan for 2 to 3 minutes. Divide them in rectangles (5 x 10 cm). Prepare the batter: sift the flour together with the cornstarch and the salt, and add the water stirring quickly. Dip one side of the seaweed rectangles in the batter and fry them in hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Add salt and serve them with a sauce made by mixing the chopped ginger with the shoyu sauce and the water.