The One Where We Cooked Seaweed

Have you ever cooked seaweed? Not the kind you get from many takeaways (which is usually cabbage) but actual seaweed? Well you are in luck, the British and Irish coasts are abundant with edible seaweeds (just check the sea water quality!) so it’s all a matter of taste. In fact, until very recently, cooking and eating seaweed was an important part of our coastal diets.

For the beach schoolers, we harvested and cleaned some Ulva, known as sea lettuce, fried it in olive oil and served with a sprinkle of sea salt. A few beach schoolers thought it was delicious. Some thought it was absolutely disgusting. But nearly everyone gave it a try. For the record, I think it tastes a bit like spinach.

It is always important to forage sustainably, seaweed is an important part of the marine ecosystem, so only take what you need, and don’t go crazy. There’s a useful resource here.