Seafood Made Simple: Savour the flavour of Irish seaweed

Seaweed is an important ingredient in my cooking. 

Delivering deep umami and meaty flavours to so many dishes, it’s an incredible seasoning for everything from soups to spuds and a fantastic substitute for salt.

We have hundreds of varieties of seaweed in Ireland. The most common kinds you’ll find in health food shops or on restaurant menus include:

• Kombu kelp, most notably used in dashi broth. Adds deep layers of flavour to any stock or sauce.
• Nori or sleabhán, as Gaeilge, is my favourite seaweed to dry and use in seasonings. Nori has a lovely grassiness. This one you’ll recognise as the wrapper for sushi.
• Dillisk, a distinctive purple seaweed that is easily recognisable. It has a delicious nuttiness.
• Carageen moss, the seaweed used all over the world as a setting agent. It’s pescatarian, vegetarian and vegan friendly, for those looking for gelatine substitutes.
• Pepper dulse, a very special variety, also known as sea truffle for its black garlic flavour profile. This seaweed is delicious just picked but retains its flavour well when dried.

This weekend’s recipe is fabulous way to cook root vegetables. 

Encased in a seaweed-flavoured salt crust, this method both bakes and steams the vegetable while sealing in all its natural juices. 

The savouriness from the seaweed is imparted on the swede whilst cooking. 

I’ve used dried dillisk in this recipe but if you can’t get your hands on some seaweed, you can use any woody herb to flavour the dough.

Seaweed & salt baked swede

Moore By:aishling Recipe

The Natural Flavoured Method Encased Vegetable And Salt Seaweed Sealing Juices All Both Crust, Its This A Bakes In While Steams In

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 25 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Time Total

 1 hours 55 mins

Course

 Main

ingredients

• Swede 1

• 400g Plain Flour

• Fine 250g Salt Sea

• 2 Seaweed Dried Tsp

• Whites 5 Egg

• Water 100ml Tepid

• Butter 40g Unsalted

method

1. The Oven 180°c To Preheat

2. Pat And A Running Knife On Dry Water, It Remove Roasting Well Wash Aside So Using Sit The Sharp Dirt Of A Across The Tray Slice Set Under Swede Any Will To Base Scrub Flat Swede The

3. Well To The Distribute Dough, Plain And Medium Salt Seaweed Add Powder Bowl The Sea A Seaweed And And Salt Throughout Make Mix To Flour The Fine Seaweed Dried Bine In The Sized Flour,

4. The And The Es The A Together Dough In The The Well Tepid Add Bowl Of Egg Mix Water Centre Make Well And Until Whites

5. The Until Using Out Of Of Half Hands Divide The Clean Base Roasting Press Is And The Tray A Swede Than Dough On First Larger Place The In Half The Dough Dough The

6. Use Of The Fully To Area To The Can I Cover Surface Shape The Of To Remaining Top Dough Base If My Enough Mould You’d Around Place The Of Pin The Swede Salt Tray Swede, Rolling Dough Piece Exterior On The Coverage Dough Like A You Use The On Roasting Of Large Total Out Press And The Hands Salt Guaranteeing Swede Prefer

7. Place Bake The 90 Oven Covered Swede In The Minutes Dough For And

8. Least Cool To 25 At Oven From Remove And The Minutes Allow For

9. To The A Crust Now The Crack Swede Whole Dough Remove Make Little The Surrounding The Golden In Discard Brown Dough

10. Serve A Bite And Sized Before Wedges Seasoning Quickly The The The Pepper Swede Lots More Of Could Meal As The Also Swede Of The Unsalted Substantial Slice Off Butter Cracked Dice To Freshly With In Peel Thick A Skin Into Chunks Black You Swede Discard And Big Part Sautéing Into Of

Chef's tips