Bring scissors with you and the kids can gather fresh seaweed takeaways from the rockpools.
YOU WILL NEED
- A picnic basket, drinks, fruit and sandwiches
- Plates for slicing and serving, cups for drinking
- A pair of scissors for slicing freshly foraged seaweed
FRESH SEAWEED FORAGING FACTS
Kelp or Ecklonia maxima fronds are used here to make a Seaweed and Citrus cordial. Kelp has a high Glutamic Acid content, giving it a distinctive umami flavor – perfect for sweet and savoury dishes. It’s also high in minerals and vitamins as well as iron and iodine.
When cooked or roasted, Nori or Porphyra capensis seaweed has an intense umami flavour.
Collect fresh Sea Lettuce / Ulva rigida to snack on or pop onto cheese sandwiches. With its intense umami flavor, it’s great eaten raw on its own, served in salads or in sandwiches and this easy-to-harvest lettuce is crammed with vitamins. Dried, it can be used to make these tasty cookies!
TIPS - Take along a bag for any rubbish that you generate over the course of the day.Leave nothing but your footprints – our coastlines and rockpools are national treasures and should be engaged with considerately and carefully
RECIPE 1 SEAWEED AND CITRUS CORDIAL
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
- zest and juice of 2 limes
- 2 fronds of Kelp seaweed
- 1/2 cup of Nori seaweed
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 stick of vanilla
- 4 ½ cups of water
- ½ tsp citric acid
Place all ingredients in a pot and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove seaweed. Bring to the boil and then simmer for another 20 minutes until the syrup thickens and reduces slightly. Line a sieve or colander with a muslin cloth and use to strain the cordial into sterilised bottles. Use straight away, otherwise it will last up to 6 weeks if stored in the fridge.
RECIPE 2 SEAWEED AND CHOCOLATE COOKIES
Makes 10 to 12 cookies
- 225g spelt flour
- 75g dark chocolate, chopped
- 50g pecans, roughly chopped
- 50g unrefined cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried sea lettuce flakes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder or extract (or vanilla seeds from 1 bean)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 100ml rice syrup
- 100ml sunflower oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the flour, chocolate, pecans, cane sugar, sea lettuce, vanilla, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the rice syrup, oil, and water and then stir it into the flour mixture. Knead well with your hands until the ingredients come together in a dough.
- Form small balls from the dough, place them on the baking sheet, and flatten them slightly (but they should still be thick).
- Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. The cookies will be crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool. With thanks to oceangreensbook.com.
