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Explore many sides of seagreens

Cookbook author, sustainability guru embraces whole new seafood category

By Joe Yonan, The Washington Post
Published: February 9, 2016, 5:30am

It turns out to be true: There is indeed more to seaweed than the Japanese seaweed salad.

Primarily because of its sustainability, I’ve been curious about seaweed for many years, but my curiosity hasn’t led to much more than a cursory familiarity with some of the other obvious uses for it: in increasingly ubiquitous packaged snacks, as the wrapper for sushi rolls, in miso soup, ground up and combined with sesame for a sprinkle-on-everything seasoning.

Seagreens — as seaweed is now being called — are worth a deeper look, especially because they’re so nutrient-dense. But what they’ve needed is a champion who can talk not just about their omega-3s, calcium, protein, fiber and iodine, but also about the potential for deliciousness in a vegetable-loving cook’s kitchen.

Thankfully, Barton Seaver is up to the challenge. The cookbook author and sustainability expert (some might say evangelist) first started experimenting with seaweed as a seafood restaurateur in Washington. “As I … became increasingly more interested in the tastes and textures of the ocean, it dawned on me that I had long overlooked an entire category of seafood,” he writes in the introduction to his new book, “Superfood Seagreens.” The more he experimented, the more enchanted he became with seagreens as an ingredient — not something that could necessarily be featured as a main course, but as a flavoring or garnish that brings the umami-rich taste of the ocean into dishes.

Seaver’s book, in fact, presents some of the most compelling uses for seagreens that I’ve seen. He tosses torn sheets of toasted nori into a watermelon, lime and mint salad. He blends kelp with ginger, walnuts and more into a pesto perfect for the produce-lean winter. And he adds kombu to the familiar Indian dish of saag paneer — creamy spinach with fresh cheese.

It was that last one I couldn’t resist. I used firm tofu instead of paneer, and I loved how the kombu added an earthy, deep note to the flavors. It was surprising and familiar, all at once.

Saag Tofu With Kombu

4 to 6 servings.

If you can find it, use a bag of loose frozen spinach leaves rather than a block of chopped spinach, because you can spill the leaves right into this dish without any prep. If you use the block, you’ll need to defrost the spinach and drain it well before adding to the dish.

Adapted from “Superfood Seagreens: A Guide to Cooking With Power-Packed Seaweed,” by Barton Seaver (Sterling, 2016).

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½ ounce dried kombu

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

9 ounces extra-firm tofu (may substitute paneer or halloumi cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 Thai chili pepper

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

One 10-ounce package frozen spinach, preferably a bag of loose leaves (see headnote)

½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed

½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt (not Greek)

Cooked brown rice, for serving

Combine the kombu and water in a medium bowl. Put a small plate or bowl on top of the kombu to keep it submerged; rehydrate the kombu until it expands and softens, about 10 minutes. Lift the kombu out of the water, letting it drain thoroughly, then transfer it to a cutting board and chop it, reserving the soaking water.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add the tofu cubes and cook, turning as needed, until they are browned and crisped, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cubes to a plate.

Stem, seed and mince the Thai chili pepper, reserving the seeds. Add the pepper (without the seeds) to the remaining butter in the skillet, along with the onion, garlic, ground ginger, cumin and coriander, stirring to incorporate. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is tender, 4 to 6 minutes.

Stir in the spinach, the chopped kombu and its soaking water. Cook, stirring, until the kombu is tender, 3 to 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in the salt; taste, and add more as needed. If you want the saag to be spicier, stir in some or all of the reserved Thai chili pepper seeds; cook for another minute or two. Remove from the heat.

Stir in the yogurt a little at a time, to keep it from curdling. Once it has been well incorporated, return the crisped tofu cubes to the skillet. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or just until everything is warmed through.

Serve warm, with rice.

Nutrition Per serving (based on 6): 110 calories, 6 g protein, 7 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 320 mg sodium, 3 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar.

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