Cork chefs on seaweed: It's weird, wild, nutritious, delicious... 

SEAWEED is one of the most abundant sources of food we have. As an island, it is immediate to us.

Even if we don’t eat it often, we see it, and after great storms our senses are bombarded by the acrid aroma of sea lettuce festering on beaches under hot sunshine.

Perhaps because of this, we are slow to reincorporate seaweeds back into our daily diets. They look alien to us; they feel weird, and they don’t smell like other foods. Maybe it’s because these plants live underwater – things that are subterranean are often viewed with suspicion.

But for those who are devotees to these strange slippery plants, there are countless reasons to eat them.

As a wild food, seaweeds provide the perfect opportunity for a spot of coastal foraging. Whilst this was the only way our forebears could access seaweed, thankfully there are companies, like Roaring Water Bay Sea Vegetables, that take on the effort of collecting, sorting and drying for us for easy purchase at the supermarket.

Carrageen is the seaweed that most of us, certainly long-time Corkonians, would be most familiar with. We can thank Myrtle Allen for that, (who would have celebrated her 100th birthday this year).

In her seminal book, The Ballymaloe Cookbook, she wrote of the many virtues of Carrageen: “For generations, the inhabitants [of Ballyandreen] have gathered and sold carrageen moss. It is picked from the farthest out rocks at low water during spring tides in June […] then laid out on the short grass on a cliff top to dry and bleach in the sun. […] It has the reputation of being a health-giving food. Traditionally, it was fed to calves and made into cough syrups and milk puddings. I have used it all my life.”

That linked tradition of carrageen moss and Ballymaloe remains to this day, as Darina Allen explained to me.

“Myrtle’s recipe for Carrageen Moss Pudding is the very best one there is. The pudding is served on the Ballymaloe Dessert Trolley every night at Ballymaloe House.”

Darina encourages us all to pick our own little stash of carrageen so we can enjoy this simple pudding ourselves at home.

“It is a dark wine colour when picked, but take it home, wash it with rain and bleach it by sun for ten days and then it will fade to a pale-yellow colour,” says Darina. Stored in an airtight container, it will stay good to use for up to two years.

“Did you know there are 650 different seaweeds that grow around the coast of Ireland?”, Darina goes on to say.

“All of them are edible, but of course not all of them are tasty!”, she quips.

“They are a super-important food and so easy to include in dishes. Start off with seaweed sprinkles and use over salads, mashed potatoes, and pasta with garlic and lemon, or immerse kelp strips into water to make a dashi broth for ramen.

“It’s so good for us – it really is like a medicine. They used to serve it to greyhounds and horses for strength and energy, and it does wonders for optimising our metabolism.”

Back in the city, and Cork’s multi-award-winning Queen of Fish, Aishling Moore, says that seaweed helps her to achieve serious notes of umami in dishes without having to rely on traditional sources, such as meat.

“We use seaweed mainly in stocks and sauces for building up flavour and umami. It makes a nice seaweed and XO without the fish, we’ve made vegan kimchi at Goldie with mushroom powder and seaweed, again without fish, reinforcing that umami flavour you don’t usually get without protein.”

Aishling is a fan of its versatility and says its perfect for a quick and easy snack that’s full of nutrients, perfect for busy people always on the go.

At Goldie, we make a hot pickle and pour it over dilisk, and fry seaweed in rice or potato starch batter for a gluten free snack.

“Carrageen is brilliant for setting desserts suitable for vegans and vegetarians, and I really like getting some freshly picked sea lettuce and dressing it with sesame oil and soy sauce for a nice little salad to serve with teriyaki mackerel.”

Seaweed is an important ingredient for Aishling’s regenerative seafood ethos, too.

“The act of growing seaweed is essential for regenerative aquaculture. It sequesters carbon and nitrogen from the ocean, and so helps with the fight against climate change,” says Aishling. “It would be great if more varieties were more widely available.

Foraging isn’t accessible for everyone – even I rarely have time for it now. I feel like we’ve been saying for years that seaweed is the next big thing in food, and I’m hoping that time is now.

How to Eat Seaweed

As well as Aishling’s suggestions for snacking on seaweed, Darina Allen shares two delicious recipes.

Islander Kelp Seaweed and Sesame Salad with Ginger Dressing by Darina Allen

Ingredients

2 x packets (250g) of Islander Rathlin Kelp or 50g dry mixed seaweed (seaweed salad) or a selection of fresh seaweed (sea lettuce, kelp, pepper dillisk, dillisk, rack, corulina)

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt (to taste)

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 spring onion, finely chopped

Method:

• 1. Put the Islander kelp in a bowl.
• 2. If using dried seaweed, put the dry mixed seaweed in a bowl and cover with water. Leave for 5 minutes to rehydrate. Dry in a salad spinner or squeeze dry between your fingers.
• 3. Grate a small amount of ginger into the bottom of a salad bowl and mix with the vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar and salt.
• 4. Toast the sesame seeds briefly in a dry pan, and then add along with the finely chopped spring onion. Toss the seaweed together in the salad dressing.

White Soda Bread with Dillisk (from The New Ballymaloe Bread Book by Darina Allen published by Kyle Books)

Ingredients (makes 1 round loaf)

450g plain white flour

1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 level teaspoon salt

15-25g chopped fresh dillisk or 1-2 tablespoons of dried dillisk

350-400ml sour milk or buttermilk (the quantity depends on the thickness of the milk)

Method:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 230ºC (no fan)
• 2. Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour most of the milk in at once. Using one hand with the fingers stiff and outstretched, mix in a full circular movement from the centre to the outside of the bowl, gradually drawing in the flour from the sides.
• Add a little more milk if necessary – shop bought buttermilk is thinner than farm-fresh, so you will need less rather than more.
• The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky. The trick with all soda breads is not to overmix the dough - mix the dough as quickly and as gently as possible, keeping it really light and airy. When it all comes together - a matter of seconds - turn it out onto a well-floured work surface.
• 3. Wash and dry your hands, then dust them with flour.
• 4. Tidy up the dough and flip it over gently. Pat into a round, about 4cm deep. Gather some of the excess flour from the worktop and sprinkle it on the centre of the baking tray. With a sharp knife, cut a deep cross on top and prick the four corners with the tip of your knife to let the fairies out, otherwise they will jinx your bread!
• 5. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200ºC and bake for 30 minutes more, until cooked. If you are in doubt, tap the bottom of the bread - if it’s fully cooked, it will sound hollow. Allow to cook on a wire rack.