Save
With sustainability and the climate crisis in sharp focus, it is natural that they influence the choice of raw ingredients in the culinary world. Think of the oceans, where overfishing is resulting in the extinction of species as well as the problem of invasive species. In this context, seaweed represents not only a delicious ingredient with a distinct umami taste, rich in nutrients and minerals, but also a useful ingredient that can compensate for the diminishing fish resources in our waters. Used extensively by chefs, today seaweed embodies a de facto food trend, but at the same time it is a food with great potential, which can be used to the full, even at home, to add flavour to dishes.
How best to use seaweed in the kitchen? We asked Marianna Vitale, chef at Michelin-starred Sud restaurant in Quarto (Naples), who has always had a deep attachment to the sea and is constantly looking for new and ancient marine ingredients.
“The premise is that the use of seaweed in cooking often stems from the fact that our seas are becoming depleted of other things. The best use of algae in cooking is definitely when they are cooked as little as possible so as not to alter their nutritional properties. In general, therefore, I avoid (as with all vegetables) overcooking. If I then want to extract the aromatic part, I cook with oil, so I generate osmosis with the oil, which is the best extractor of flavour,” says Vitale.
Vitale, who has a genuine passion for seaweed, has even created Marialga, a barrel-fermented beer made from sea lettuce. “The taste of this type of seaweed is universally relatable to that of the sea: its scent evokes the sense of being near a reef. Sea lettuce grows on rock formations, at low tide the seaweed emerges, and the wind carries its aroma, which for everyone becomes the so-called sea smell,” explains the chef. This is the first experiment of a larger project, which involves the study and production of beers macerated with sea vegetable products from the Campi Flegrei. To be paired with seaweed-based dishes.
How can seaweed be used in the kitchen? Find out below, with tips and recipes from chef Marianna Vitale.
Photo: Antonio Vitale
How to use seaweed in the kitchen: tips and recipes
Create an alternative aromatic salad with salted seaweed
While Eastern culinary culture has familiarised us with different types of Japanese seaweed, now widespread and well-known to lovers of Japanese tradition – from nori to kombu, from wakame to hijiki, passing through agar agar, with its well-known thickening properties – Western culinary culture features different species of sea vegetables.
For instance, dulce seaweed, sea lettuce and sea bean, are perfect for combining with other green leafy ingredients in a rich, aromatic salad. This is a very easy use of seaweed: just choose the ones preserved in salt and already cooked, as Marianna Vitale does in her dish of green salad, seaweed and red prawns (top photo).
Use seaweed as a marine flavour enhancer
Paolo Properzi | Slow Food Archive
"Seaweed is a great concentrate of the sea, a true marine vegetable flavour enhancer: it is therefore an excellent substitute, and consequently a way to save money, but also an alternative to sea flavour for those who decide to give up animal proteins," explains Vitale. "The idea of using seaweed in the kitchen is inspired by the peasant cuisine of our grandmothers: when it wasn’t possible to buy abundant quantities of fish, especially for large families.”
An example is the recipe for spaghetti with 'vongole fujute', a famous Naples dish, i.e., pasta in which the clams have literally 'escaped', seasoned with garlic, oil, tomato, chilli pepper and parsley. Inspired by the concept of seafood cuisine without fish, the chef has come up with an anti-waste recipe with the aroma of the sea, created using the bones of red mullet: tubetti ravioli with seaweed and a hint of mullet. In this case, a seaweed salad complements the dish, giving it a strong sea scent. The chef's advice is to try and include sea lettuce and wakame, which have strong sea vegetable aromas.
Boost the flavour of dishes or create crispy vegetable breading
Norwegian Seafood Council
“There are different ways to use seaweed in fresh, summery recipes,” explains Vitale. "To enrich a simple tomato sauce with seafood flavour, simply add a quantity of chopped seaweed to a stir-fry with oil, garlic and tomato, then blend it all together with cooking water. To replicate the taste of the classic pasta, beans and mussels Neapolitan style, you can replace the mussels with a good amount of seaweed.”
It is also possible to use seaweed instead of classic breadcrumbs. “Wrap the fillets of fish in seaweed (if you use dried seaweed, it must be rehydrated), then fry in hot oil for a few minutes. The seaweed coating will create a crispy sheet and the fish will remain soft. It should be served hot,” she says. Seaweed can also be used to enhance the flavour of a fish dish, as in the case of mixed pasta with Vesuvius tomato cream, stockfish, seaweed and smoked pepper. Now, all that remains is to experiment with cooking with seaweed at home in your own kitchen.
Latest
