Adventures in seaweed

Ok so I may disappoint you now because I’m not talking mermaids with seashell bras type adventures, I wanted to share my latest new-food experience – Sea spaghetti.

I got so excited when I heard about this ‘perfect raw alternative to pasta’, and even more so when I found it in a shop.

However after getting it home and soaking it for half an hour in warm water I found the intense ‘  rock pools at low tide’ odour rather off-putting. The problem was it looked like seaweed, and it smelt like seaweed, I cautiously fished out a strand and tasted it – it had a very pungent seafood flavour (or what I imagine seafood to taste of, never having tried it – it tasted just as it smelt).

disappointed realisation – it’s seaweed

However, after rinsing several times it both smelt and tasted slightly milder.

I consulted the recipe book by which I had been inspired, you can find the recipe at the bottom of this page.

By now I had considered I might actually rather be eating Russell Brands hair, but as a vegan that would of course be unethical, not to mention potentially unsustainable, so instead I concluded I would need a much stronger flavour sauce to disguise the pungency of the sea ‘spaghetti’. So I added lemon juice, herb salt, coconut milk yogurt and a good pinch of cayenne pepper to the miso, tahini and olive oil (the other ingredients I either didn’t have or didn’t bother with). It was better, but to further reduce the unpleasantness I cut the seaweed into tiny pieces so I didn’t have to chew great mouthfuls of it at a time. And I managed to eat a little, the rest of the seaweed I hid in a bowl of water the fridge. I tried it twice since and rather bravely served it to a friend today  – with the same sauce and lots of salad. She liked it and I almost enjoyed it. I think I am getting used to it, it seems the longer it is soaked for the milder the flavour, and as a result I can appreciate the al dente texture more so.

Now I know to give it a couple of days soaking time I will plan to try it again, possibly with a really garlicky pesto sauce as shown here. Do you have any serving recommendations or favourite seaweed recipes to share?

More adventures in seaweed to follow…..