Keep this seaweed butter on hand for everything from seared scallops to a warm piece of bread
A recipe that brings the salty goodness of the Atlantic to your dinner table, wherever you are
With foraging being so ‘of the moment’ and with seaweeds being in their prime for such a short period of time, I developed this technique that lets us preserve freshly harvested Newfoundland seaweed’s optimum flavour.
Not to worry if you aren’t by the sea and cannot dry your own seaweed; you can use store-bought dried seaweed for this recipe.
Ingredients
- ½ cup room temperature, unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp crumbled dried seaweed; Dulse or Nori will work for this
- 1 8x10 piece of parchment paper
- 2 large scallops, sliced thinly and brought to room temperature
- 1 piece kitchen stone, a block of Himalayan Salt, or any flat dish that can be warmed in the oven
- Sprinkling of sea salt or Japanese rice seasoning mix
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Mix butter and seaweed together with a fork until well combined. Scoop it out onto one the edge of the parchment paper and form into a log shape that is about 4 inches long. Roll tightly, then twist both ends. Place in the fridge to set, or in freezer, until ready to use. This can be prepared in advance; seaweed butter will will keep for 6 weeks in the freezer.
Warm your stone or dish in the oven to 350F degrees, and remove when you are ready to plate. Slice off enough butter to coat the stone or dish, place on hot dish and once buttered lay your sliced scallop on top. Season to taste with sea salt or rice seasoning mix.
Yield: Makes one ½ cup stick of butter — enough to garnish six scallops
Lori McCarthy is a chef who leads food foraging tours of the Newfoundland coast through her company www.CodSounds.ca.