Week 3: Seaweed, Beans, Spices & Grains.
Who wants some seaweed caviar?
Have I lost you yet? Bear with me on this one, I’m not lying when I say it was delicious. Last week we were introduced to the vast world of sea vegetables. All 9,200 species of them!
I kid, I kid. We worked with eight varieties including agar-agar, wakame, nori, kombu, hijiki (aka hiziki), dulse, arame, and sea palm. Thanks to sushi, my only awareness of seaweed is nori, so this opened up a whole new world of vegetables for me. I wanted to go into this with a very open mind, but there were some varieties, I’ll admit, I just could not stomach. That hijiki caviar with tofu sour cream though…pretty mind blowing.
At the beginning of every class, each group is assigned a set of recipes. From there, we designate a recipe lead, then all work together to complete everything within a certain timeframe. For seaweed day, my group had a Wakame, Seitan, and Toasted Walnut Casserole; Arame with Vegetables; Arame Strudel; and Coconut-Lime Flan.
Arame
Chef Celine demonstrating the perfect phyllo technique for the Arame Strudel.
One of the reasons I wish I loved every type of seaweed is that it is SO good for you. Sea vegetables are richer in minerals than land veg, and are full of complex carbs that stabilize blood sugar. They also have a high concentration of amino acids and alginic acid. Sea vegetables are alkalizing in the body, and support healthy bones, teeth, hair and immunity. Also, Fuciodan, a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from brown algae, is a powerful anti-viral agent.
Arame Strudel
Coconut-Lime Flan with Agar
The flan was the most sneaky with its seaweed content. Agar-Agar acts as a plant-based gelatin in food. It is odorless, flavorless, and the least seaweedy by far.
We also all got to make our own vegan sushi roll to share with the class. I nearly killed one of my classmates with the amount of wasabi in my roll… but I did warn people to eat mine at their own risk.
In addition to seaweed, it was Spices, Beans + Grains Week! Let me first say, I’m giving you this recipe for the most delicious, low-sugar baked beans. One of my easy, peasy, low effort weeknight dinners is a roasted sweet potato and broccoli bowl with baked beans and chicken sausage, and I’m now definitely using this baked bean recipe made with white miso instead of bacon.
I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that I’ve never cooked beans from scratch (i.e. dried) before. I always thought it was too laborious and required much planning.
But, I am a changed woman. That Roasted Red Pepper Hummus up there is made from scratch was TO DIE FOR, not to mention quite fun to plate. I got to use my red pepper roasting skills from the week prior and my new knowledge of dried chickpeas for this concoction, and I may never buy pre-made hummus again. That’s a lie. I probably will, but this one was good.
During beans and grains week, all groups had to practice making every type of grain (brown rice, millet, barley, kasha etc.) then we had to taste and compare how each group’s was different. Please never feed me plain grains again. I’m good for a while.
Our group was also assigned this Smoky Split Pea soup. One of the ingredients was this insanely smoky tea called Lapsang Souchong. When we tasted the brewed tea on it’s own, I nearly spit it out. It’s basically the mezcal of teas, and I thought it would ruin the perfectly delicious split pea soup.
But once we poured the tea in, it transformed the soup. It almost gave it a ham essence, when there was no meat in sight. It was magical.
Alright now, here are a few of my favorite recipes from this past week! The Almond-Stuffed Dates changed my perception of Chinese 5-Spice Powder in the best way. Let me know if you make any of them!
Until next week, happy cooking!
