Here in Sonoma County, we pride ourselves on the diversity of world-class foods we produce locally, from our wines and cheeses to our vegetables and Dungeness crab. But there’s also a growing business of harvesting, drying and selling seaweed from the pristine waters that flank our shores.
It’s one more delicious product from this abundant ecosystem, but overharvesting of seaweed is a growing problem, and seaweed suppliers are beginning to explore farming various types of seaweed. The Salt Point Seaweed Company, for instance, is experimenting with farming native red algae, or Gracilariopsis andersonii, in Tomales Bay in partnership with the Hog Island Oyster Company.
While harvest season is June and July, seaweed is dried and packaged, so it’s available year-round. Right now, when we have top-quality citrus and young spring vegetables, it’s a good time to make friends with seaweed.
In the kitchen, seaweed is not much used in cooking in the United States, but it’s an important part of the diet in Japan, in maritime Ireland and Scotland and in Iceland, Norway, France and eastern Canada. Because of its nutritive value, seaweed has made inroads into organic and macrobiotic kitchens in America. Once you start to use seaweed, you start to wonder how you got along without it. It imparts a true flavor of the sea to everything from soup bases to omelets.
- Kelp is probably the most familiar seaweed to most people. Roasted, dried and ground into flakes, it’s used as a seasoning and salt substitute.
- Nori, the black seaweed used to wrap sushi, is often found in sheets, but the best nori is dried in leaf form. It can be used dried, lightly roasted or as tempura. If roasted, it can be crumbled over grains and vegetables as a condiment. It’s nutritious — about one-third pure protein.
- The best dulse is a red algae labeled Grand Manan that comes from the North Atlantic. It’s zesty raw or cooked, with an underlying sweetness. Dulse from the west coast of North America is fiercely salty and powerful. Finely chopped dulse becomes a multifaceted condiment when used in place of salt’s single flavor note. Its flavor accents eggs, vegetables, rice, casseroles, chowders and, especially, potatoes. It can be used on pizzas instead of anchovies and in omelets like bacon. Cooked in a soup, dulse gradually softens and disintegrates into the liquid, flavoring it.
- Wakame is a sweet, relatively tender seaweed that’s a standard addition to miso soup. It has an appealingly clean, salt-air aroma. Use it in soups, stir fries, raw or in salads.
- Kombu is related to kelp. It makes great soup stock and is used with beans to soften them and speed their cooking. A few strips of kombu in a pot of rice as it’s cooking enhances its flavor. Kombu broth is the basic Japanese soup stock called dashi and is made by heating kombu strips in water and removing the kombu just before the water boils. Use about an ounce of kombu to 6 cups of water.
- Sea palm fronds are unique to the Pacific Northwest, from San Francisco to Vancouver, British Columbia. They’re used raw, sauteed and in soups and salads.
- Sea whip fronds are another form of kelp and the most tender of all sea vegetables; they’re sweet and salty and good raw and in soups.
- Bladderwrack, known as rockweed on the East Coast, is used as a healing tea and in soups. Grapestone (Gigartina papillata) is a seaweed resembling a deep red, exotic mushroom and is excellent in stir-fries.
- Sea lettuce is called aonori by the Japanese and is a bright green seaweed used as a condiment.
- Hiziki is exceptionally nutritious, full of trace minerals. It has a strong flavor and sturdy texture, taking about 10 minutes to cook.
- Arame is a mild seaweed and cooks in about half the time of hiziki. Both hiziki and arame are Japanese imports and fairly easy to find at natural food stores.
This recipe is from Simone Parris, a private chef who used to cook for celebrities in Los Angeles but is now teaching overseas.
Wakame Orange Salad
Makes 3 to 4 servings
1 English cucumber
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon wakame flakes
2 oranges, preferably Cara Cara
¼ cup raw sesame seeds
Thumb of fresh ginger root, grated
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons shoyu soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Dash of ground cayenne pepper
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2 scallions, finely chopped
Peel strips down the length of the cucumber, slice it in half lengthwise, then cut in half rounds ⅛ inch thick. Place the cucumbers in a bowl with the sea salt and combine them with your hands. Place a plate so it presses the top of the cucumbers and add weight on top of the plate, such as a gallon jug of water. This squeezes water from the cucumbers and breaks down cell walls, making them easier to digest.
Soak the wakame flakes in enough water to cover until they’re soft, then squeeze out the wakame and discard the water.
With a sharp knife, cut the tops and bottoms from the oranges deeply enough to remove the white, then do the same all around the sides of the oranges. When all the white is removed, slice the orange into quarters, remove any seeds and the white core and cut the quarters into ½-inch pieces.
Wash the sesame seeds in a fine mesh strainer and let drain. Heat an iron skillet on medium to toast the sesame seeds, using a wooden spoon to keep them moving. If they start jumping around, the heat is too high. When you can easily crush a seed between your thumb and ring finger, the seeds are done. Be careful not to overcook. As soon as they’re done, transfer them to a bowl.
Prepare the dressing by whisking together in a separate bowl 1 teaspoon of juice pressed from the grated ginger (use the back of a second tablespoon to press out the juice), the maple syrup, shoyu, vinegar, toasted sesame oil, cayenne and black pepper.
When the cucumber has been under the weight for at least 20 minutes, pour off the liquid and gently squeeze the cucumbers, then combine them with the oranges and wakame.
Toss with the dressing and garnish the top with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and finely chopped scallions.
Jeff Cox is a Kenwood-based food and garden writer. Reach him at jeffcox@sonic.net.
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