Recipe: Seaweed Pickled Vegetables

I like to always have a pot or two of pickled veg on the go - such a tangy, tasty way to liven up most meals, and it’s such a handy option for using up leftover produce from our veg box or during peak growing season.

Recipes such as this are all about adaptation and using up what you have - in terms of the vegetables you include as well as the fresh and dried herbs and spices. So if you don’t have any of the herbs or spices on the list below don’t be put off, just use a swap-in. I always make a note of adaptations I make to recipes so I can figure out what worked well and not so well next time!

I added dried seaweed flakes from The Cornish Seaweed Company to this pot of pickled veg; I wanted to add a flavour of the coastline when I used the veg to accompany Wild Mushroom & Rock Samphire Omelettes during my beach-side breakfast conversation with seaweed artist Julia Bird.

You can listen to my conversation with Julia in Episode 17 of my podcast, Breakfast & Beyond. Enjoy!

Thank you to John Hersey for the photo below :)

Recipe: Seaweed Pickled Vegetables

Makes 1 x 1litre kilner jar

Ingredients:

• 400g seasonal veg - I used courgettes, carrots and beetroot

• Handful of fresh, seasonal herbs - I used marjoram

• 250ml cider vinegar

• 200ml water

• 30g sea salt

• 1 tsp peppercorns

• 1 desert spoon dried seaweed flakes

• 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

Method:

1. Prepare a 1 litre glass jar for storing the pickled veg by washing thoroughly then drying.

2. Chop the veg into small pieces using all edible parts including stalks and leaves, then place in a large bowl. Chop the fresh herbs and mix with the veg.

3. Pack the vegetables and fresh herbs into the glass jar, pressing down so there is a gap at the top of the jar.

4. Make the brine - place the water, cider vinegar and salt in a pan and warm until salt is dissolved. Remove from heat then add the peppercorns, seaweed flakes, mustard, fennel and fenugreek seeds along with the ground ginger and turmeric. Stir well and leave to cool.

5. When cool, pour liquid over the vegetables, making sure there are no air gaps. Place the lid tightly on the jar.

6. Leave for at least 48 hours before using to let the flavours develop. Will keep for a couple of months in the fridge.

Recipe: Wild Mushroom & Rock Samphire Omelette

I cooked this omelette at the beach when recording Episode 17 of my podcast, Breakfast & Beyond, with seaweed artist Julia Bird. In the style of beach-side cooking, it was created with a handful of this and a dollop of that - which is the beauty of cooking al fresco! I also think that omelettes are by their nature a great one to experiment with, using eggs as a base then adding in different flavours and textures according to availability and the season.

For these omelettes, I wanted to harness a taste of the coastline, so added some dried seaweed flakes from The Cornish Seaweed Company along with some freshly picked rock samphire, as I was sautéing the mushrooms. Feel free to try the same, or replace these with your own flavours.

The recipe below serves two, based on each person’s omelette being made with two eggs. Depending on the size of your frying pan, you could stick with this, or put all four eggs in together and cook as one bigger omelette, then half it to serve two people. This is also a good option if you want to keep everything warm until the moment of serving.

We ate the omelettes accompanied by Seaweed Pickled Veg - again using dried seaweed flakes to enhance the flavour - and I l loved pairing the soft texture of the omelette with the harder, tarter taste of the picked veg (you can find the pickled veg recipe via this link).

So, play around with this recipe - and if you can, have a cook up at the beach, I can guarantee it will taste even better!

Huge thanks to John Hersey for the photos, and you can listen to Episode 17 of Breakfast & Beyond here.

Recipe: Wild Mushroom & Rock Samphire Omelette

Serves 2
Prep time: 5 mins. Cooking time: 10 mins.

Ingredients:

• 4 free range eggs

• Large handful grated gouda, I used cheese from The Cornish Gouda Co

• 2 handfuls of mushrooms, I used field mushrooms that we picked, other types of foraged or bought mushrooms could be used

• Small handful of rock samphire

• Olive oil

• Salt, I use Cornish Sea Salt

• Ground pepper

• Sprinkle of dried seaweed flakes from The Cornish Seaweed Company

Method:

1. Prepare and cook the mushrooms, ready to add to the omelette as it’s cooking: wash the mushrooms then cut into small pieces. Roughly tear the rock samphire. Warm a glug of oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the mushroom and rock samphire pieces, season with salt, pepper and a shake of dried seaweed flakes. Cook for approx 5 minutes until mushrooms are starting to become crisp at the edges then spoon out into a bowl and set aside.

2. Crack 2 eggs into a bowl and whisk well. Season with salt, pepper and dried seaweed flakes.

3. Add a little more oil to the frying pan, return to the heat and when the oil is warm, pour the beaten eggs into the frying pan, making sure the mixture meets the edges. When the omelette starts to whiten and harden around the edges, add a decent grating of cheese on top, and scatter half of the mushroom and rock samphire mixture on one side of the omelette. Leave to cook for a couple more minutes until all of the runny egg has hardened.

4. When there is no runny egg remaining, use a spatula to elevate one side of the omelette and flip it over on itself, so you are left with a half moon shape. Continue cooking for another minute then flip the omelette so it cooks on the other side for a further minute.

5. Remove the omelette from the pan and set aside while you repeat with the two remaining eggs and the rest of the mushroom and rock samphire, along with another good grating of cheese.

Recipe: Blackberry & Elderberry Tartlets

I’m a bit in love with these tartlets as a delicious, wholesome snack at any time of day. Made with seasonal ingredients that are easily adaptable, there’s no added sugar with the chia seeds working to thicken the berry sauce before it’s added to the cases.

You can swap in different types of berries - fresh or frozen - according to the time of year and what you have that needs using up, and similarly the nuts that form the base of the cases; I used hazelnuts but these could be substituted for others, so do feel free to play around with the recipe.

I shared these tartlets with Julia Bird and John Hersey whilst recording on location for Episode 17 of my podcast, Breakfast & Beyond, in which we discussed the art of Julia’s beautiful seaweed pressing art that is inspired by the Cornish coastline. They tasted amazing accompanied with coffee by local roasters Lars & Margo, I definitely recommend giving this recipe a try - all the better if you can take them to the beach for an al fresco breakfast!

Listen to Episode 17 of Breakfast & Beyond and share the visual story through John’s stunning photos, via the Episode 17 web page.

Recipe: Blackberry & Elderberry Tartlets

Makes 12
Prep time: 20 minutes (plus waiting for one hour for dates to soften). Cooking time: 25 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 80g pitted dates

• 120g hazelnuts

• 120g ground almonds

• 1 tbsp coconut oil

• Flour, for rolling out (use gluten free if required)

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil, plus more for greasing

• 120ml maple syrup

• 300g berries, fresh or frozen - I used a combination of 3/4 blackberries and 1/4 elderberries

• 2 tbsp chia seeds

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. An hour in advance - roughly cut the dates into small pieces then place the dates in a bowl and add just enough water to cover them. Leave to soften for approx one hour.

2. Heat oven to 180°C.

3. Place nuts on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 5 - 10 mins, until turning darker in colour - ensure they do not burn. When ready, remove from oven and set aside to cool.

4. Sieve dates ovr a bowl to collect and reserve the date juice.

5. Warm coconut oil in a saucepan over a low heat, then set aside.

6. Place the cooled nuts in a food processor, blitz for around 30 seconds so they are well broken down. Add the ground almonds and blitz again. Use a spoon to work the mixture out of the sides of the food processor if it starts to compact before blitzing again until well combined.

7. Add the coconut oil and drained dates to the food processor. Blitz again. Check the consistency of the ‘dough’ - it should be sticky and pliable so that you can roll it out. You may wish to add a splash of date juice, if it feels too firm and crumbly. If adding date juice, just add a little at a time, blitz and re-check consistency.

8. Remove ‘dough’ from food processor and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out carefully to a thickness of approx. 5mm.

9. Grease a 12 hole shallow muffin tin. Select a cookie cutter or glass with rim that is just wider than the muffin holes. Press out 12 circles and place over muffin tin. Shape them as you gently press them in, and smooth over any gaps that appear.

10. As you bring the dough together to roll out for a second time, use another splash of date juice if the consistency becomes too dry.

11. Cook tart bases in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes until turning darker in colour. Remove from the oven, use a knife to work around each tart base and ensure it isn’t stuck to the tin, then set aside for 10 mins to cool and harden.

12. While the tart cases are in the oven, in a large, non-stick frying pan warm the oil then add the maple syrup. Turn up the heat a little until the maple syrup starts to sizzle, allow it to continue simmering for a couple of minutes.

13. Add the berries to the pan and mix well. Stir regularly as the berries warm and release moisture. Continue cooking for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until the berries are well softened and their shape has broken down then remove from heat.

14. Add the chia seeds and vanilla extract, mix well then set aside for 20 minutes to thicken and cool.

15. When the bases have cooled and hardened, remove them from the tin onto a plate. When the berry mixture has cooled and thickened, place a desert spoon of berry mixture into each tart case.

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