- Sourdough and Spice

I discovered Bladderwrack Algae by chance recently on a camping trip to the German North Sea. The North Sea, like the name suggests, is hardly tropical and reminds of hardy sailors in big wool sweaters. During the day, the tide goes for kilometers and leaves behind the bare seabed. Tourists ride horses across a strange landscape and sea gulls shriek. When the tide comes back in, it brings back the animals and plants of the sea each day. The North Sea is a great place to forage for all that the sea has to offer!

Print Recipe

Prep Time 0

Cook Time 45

Course Main Course

Servings 4 people

Equipment

1 pound of Spaghetti (approximatley 500g)
2 small cloves of Garlic
1 Jar of Ajvar
2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
2 handfuls of foraged Bladderwrack Algae
Salt to taste
Optional Additions
1 Eggplant
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Block of firm Tofu
1 Teaspoon of Red Pesto

Ingredients

1 pound of Spaghetti approximatley 500g
2 cloves of Garlic
1 Jar of Ajvar
2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
2 handfuls f foraged Bladderwrack Algae
Salt to taste

Optional Additions

1 Eggplant
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Block of Firm Tofu
1 Teaspoon of Red Pesto

Instructions

Prepare the Pasta and Algae

Heat a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
Once the water is boiling, add in the pasta and generously add salt. Your pasta water should be as salty as the sea. Don't skimp on the salt here.
While the pasta is cooking wash the algae thoroughly under running water.
Now add the algae as a whole to the boiling pasta water and cook for five minutes. You'll immediately see the color of the algae change from a brown greenish to a bright green.
Take out the algae and let cool until you can cut it into bite sized pieces. Put aside and keep.

Prepare the Pasta Sauce

Cut up a block of firm tofu into small squares and add to a medium sized pot with a swig of olive oil. Turn up the heat to fry the tofu, so that the outside turns golden and crisps up a bit.
While the tofu is frying, cut up an onion and one of the cloves of garlic. Add them to the tofu, once the tofu has had time to crisp up a bit. Let simmer and sauté until the onion and garlic are fragrant and translucent.
Meanwhile cut up an eggplant into small square pieces. Cut these pieces as small as you can be bothered to. This will shorten the time you need to sautée the eggplant - the larger the pieces the longer the time it needs in the pan.
Add the small pieces of eggplant to the medium-sized pot. Turn the heat down a bit and stir gently to make sure the eggplant doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
If you've cut the eggplant into small pieces it will turn soft and loose it's whiteish color within a few minutes. The eggplant is ready when it turns almost translucent and exudes oil when you press on it with a laddle. Don't add in other ingredients before the eggplant is ready. Raw eggplant has a chewy texture and a strange bitter taste that can really downgrade your dish. Give yourself the few extra minutes to make sure the eggplant is fully cooked through. If you're in a rush, leave out the eggplant.
Cut up the red bell peper into bite sized pieces and keep ready to add to the eggplant, onion, garlic and tofu once the eggplant is cooked through.
Now add the whole jar of ajvar to the pot. Add a bit of water to the ajvar until the consistency is a bit more 'saucey'. Now stir and heat over medium heat until almost cooking.
Check the pasta and in case it is ready, siphon off a cup of the salty pasta water and then drain. Now set aside the drained pasta. If it's not ready, keep an eye on it and keep it cooking on the stove.

Lightly fry the Bladderwrack Algae with Garlic

While the ajvar is heating and the pasta is cooking, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the small pan.
Now mince a clove of garlic and add it to the warming oil until translucent and fragrant. Quickly, before the garlic begins to burn add in the cut up pieces of bladderwrack algae. Make sure the algae is tossed and turn up the heat, while tossing regularly to make sure the algae and garlic doesn't burn. Once the bladderwrack algae is coated and heated through, take the pan off the heat.

Finish off the Pasta sauce

Now add a bit of the salty pasta water to the ajvar until you've reached the desired consistency. Add only a little bit, because the pasta water might be very salty. If you haven't already throw out the remaining pasta water and add the pasta to the ajvar sauce. Mix well and serve on deep plates.
Now top with the sated garlic algae pesto and serve hot. If you have picky eaters, mix the topping in with the ajvar sauce instead.

Notes

If you're eating this dish because you have an adventurous palate, I suggest cutting algae into bite sized pieces so that you can actually taste and enjoy it.

If you're making this dish because of the nutrients, cut the algae as small as possible and mix it in with the other ingredients, you'll hardly taste the algae if it's cut up into small pieces. Regardless of how small you cut the algae, you'll still reap the nutritional benefits of it.

If you're in a rush, leave out the eggplant. This dish contains eggplant to boost the nutritional value of the pasta sauce and give it a bit more texture. Eggplant notoriously takes a while to cook or sautee and will make your dish taste bitter if you don't give it the time it needs to cook through. Rather than downgrading your dish by rushing I would leave out the eggplant if you're in a hurry.