There is so much tasty goodness you can cook up from the coast, says forager Lindy Taverner who delights in using ingredients harvested free from the sea.
Sea lettuce, or ulva, for example is a bright green seaweed you can eat raw in salads, use as a garnish, chop finely and add to salad dressings, or run through rice.
“Sea lettuce is a great source of calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, protein and its highest vitamin C content is when harvested in early summer,” Taverner said .
“It tastes like lettuce raw and has more flavour when dried or roasted. It crumbles easily once dried and makes great umami spice.”
Marinate overnight or cook like spinach, blanching in hot water to tenderise, she advises. Try this recipe for sea biscuits, which taste like savoury scones.
SEA BISCUIT
Ingredients
- 2 cups of flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- pinch of salt
- 100g butter, chilled and chopped into blocks
- 100g cheese, grated
- 1 cup of sea lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup of yoghurt
- drop of milk
Method
Combine flour, salt sugar, baking powder in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mix until it resembles a crumbly, sandy consistency.
Mix in the chopped up seaweed and cheese.
Add the yoghurt and use a knife to cut it into the flour mix until a soft dough is formed. Add more flour if too sticky.
Roll into a long fat snake on a floured surface and cut into 4cm slices.
Place on greased oven tray, brush the tops with milk and bake in a preheated oven at 160°C until golden brown.
Nori, or porphyra, is another sea algae which can also be cooked like spinach in stir-fries, omelettes, and stews.
“Roasting nori creates the best flavour and dehydrates well with a nutritional value of around 35% protein,” Taverner said.
NORI CHIPS
Place dried nori evenly on an oven tray and coat it with oil (she suggests sesame, chilli or olive oil).
Bake at 140°C for seven minutes and if your nori is still wet, make this 10 minutes.
Remove and check if nori is crispy.
If not, bake only the nori strips that need more drying for another minute, but be careful as it burns very easily.
Add seasoning such as sea salt, paprika, lime, cumin, sesame seeds and bake for another minute.
Tip: to make sweet chips, dredge with icing sugar on both sides and bake for another minute.
DUNE SPINACH
Dune spinach, or Tetragonia decumbens, also known as kinkelbos in SA , is a coastal creeping shrub.
Make sure to pick the leaves only then wash well to get rid of any sand.
“Dune spinach is not seaweed but still yum. It is very salty and can be eaten raw in salads like a vegan feta,” Taverner said.
She recommends using dune spinach with other bold tastes, although it does lose much of its saltiness when it is cooked.
Use as a replacement for spinach in spanakopita, or spinach and ricotta pasta, add it to potato salad or use in a stir-fry.
Tips for safe and sustainable coastal foraging
The best time for coastal foraging is on the low spring tides every two weeks, corresponding with the full and new moons.
The next full moon is on July 10, and the next new moon on July 24. On these dates, says coastal foraging guide Lindy Taverner, the intertidal zone is exposed.
This opens up rock pools below the high tide line which offers the best conditions to explore and collect edible seaweeds.
“All seaweeds in the Eastern Cape are safe to eat but ensure you collect from a non-polluted area,” Taverner said .
“Make sure it looks healthy and clean, is attached to a rock (never floating or on beach) and is growing prolifically in the area.”
Other tips for sustainable foraging include:
- Take care when you walk: respect all wildlife and especially watch out for anemones, starfish and sea urchins
- Only collect the seaweed you need, and that your permit allows
- Collect close to the tide line at low tide
- Never pull seaweeds out by their roots but always cut off the rocks so “you don’t destroy their holdfasts, and they can regrow”.
- Only cut a third of the seaweed available
- Always have the waves in view: to keep safe, never have your back turned to the ocean
HeraldLIVE
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