Seaweed at the Taste of West Cork Festival

Japanese salad made from Bantry Bay Wakame & Baltimore Cucumber

There is much you can say about the benefits of seaweed, but Majella O’Neill of the Riverside Restaurant in Skibbereen sums it up quite succinctly by telling us that seaweed is immensely rich in chlorophyll, and that chlorophyll is only one mineral away from being identical to haemoglobin.

Haemaglobin, which contains iron, transports oxygen to our blood. Chlorophyll, which differs only in that it contains the mineral of magnesium – a mineral that is needed by every organ in the body – performs much the same function. In supplying us with magnesium, and pumping energy into the blood, eating seaweed protects us from getting sick.

Simple as that.

Photos: Jim Kennedy

Majella was speaking at a seaweed demo we hosted as part of Taste of West Cork. We were joined in the demo by my partners in seaweed, Jim and Maria Kennedy of Atlantic Sea Kayaking, and Mamiko Crowley.

Mamiko Crowley’s two names might give away that this is a young Japanese girl, married to an Irishman, living in West Cork. The plan of the demo was to find out what a nation with a highly-developed seaweed culture could teach a nation with an ancient but understated seaweed culture, in a county that has a rich coastline.

Majella, who owns the Riverside where the event took place, gave us the nutritional facts about seaweed – did you know for example that kelp can be ten times richer in calcium than cow’s milk, or dulse is 50 times higher in iron than spinach. Maria Kennedy showed us some of her glorious natural skin seaweed remedies, and Jim Kennedy informed us about how to find and gather seaweed safely. The Kennedys offer a seaweed foraging course as part of their kayaking package (www.atlanticseakayaking.com)

We were lucky that we had an informed audience, who included a diver who described snorkeling and diving amongst the local kelp forests. (www.baltimorediving.com)

Here are some of Mamiko Crowley’s recipes:

Sesame Dressing

1 tablespoon vinegar (Mamiko recommends rice vinegar or white malt vinegar)
1 tablespoon soy sauce (Mamiko recommends Kikkoman)
3 tablespoons Tahini (preferably a tahini with a thin consistency)
½ tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
½ tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon water (or more, if needed to thin the dressing)

Beat the ingredients together and use as a dressing or dip.

This makes a good salad dressing served with lettuce, seaweed (Mamiko used Atlantic Wakame, reconstituted in some water until soft and green) and walnuts.


Sea Spaghetti Salad

Sea Spaghetti (either buy dried and reconsistute in water, or pick fresh from the beach)

Dressing:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Mirin
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons malt or rice vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ tablespoon sesame oil
chilli flakes

Simmer the sea spaghetti in boiling water for about five minutes. Drain, and then toss in the dressing ingredients.

Cucumber and Wakame Salad

½ cucumber, sliced
salt
handful of Atlantic wakame, reconstituted in water

Dressing:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice of malt vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Slice the cucumber and place in a bowl with salt for about ten minutes. When ready to use, squeeze the cucumber with your fingers to remove the juice. This gives the cucumber a crispy texture. Soak the wakame, and then squeeze out the water.
Mix together the dressing ingredients and toss everything together.

Sesame Dressing