Vegetarian

Clotilde Dusoulier's Seaweed Tartare

by:
August 26, 2013

All week long, Clotilde Dusoulier of Chocolate & Zucchini will be sharing recipes from her latest, The French Market Cookbook, answering our questions, and giving away copies of her book to a few lucky readers. With her as our guest editor, we're feeling slightly more French -- and significantly more inspired.

Seaweed Tartare on Food52

Although we haven’t reached Japanese heights yet, seaweed consumption is increasingly common in France, and that’s not so surprising: the French love flavors from the sea, oysters are considered a supreme delicacy, and with such a wide coastline, the country offers plenty of opportunities to grow and harvest seaweed.

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One of the most-loved ways to prepare and eat seaweed is as a tartare, a finely chopped and well-seasoned mix of various types of seaweeds. Highly flavorful, and not so strong as to turn off novice seaweed eaters, it can be spread on crackers, thin rounds of baguette, or steamed potato slices to serve with a pre-dinner drink. It can be used as a sandwich spread, too, and to stuff plum tomatoes, top an omelet, or dress a warm potato salad. Be sure to prepare the tartare a few hours in advance of serving.

Seaweed Tartare (Tartare d’Algues)

Makes about 1/2 cup

3/4 cups dehydrated mixed seaweed flakes
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely diced shallot
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons drained capers
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon walnut oil or untoasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photo by Francoise Nicol

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  • ChefJune
    ChefJune
  • M. Burke
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  • Merrill Stubbs
    Merrill Stubbs
  • clotilde
    clotilde
Clotilde Dusoulier is a French food writer based in Paris. Her focus is on fresh, colorful, and seasonal foods, making room for both wholesome, nourishing dishes and sweet treats. An enthusiastic explorer of flavors and observer of culinary trends, she contributes to international food and travel magazines, and writes cookbooks and guidebooks. She lives in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris with her boyfriend and their young son.

6 Comments

ChefJune August 26, 2013
I love seaweed, but now we have a huge problem. Most seaweed consumed in US comes from Japan. And we are increasingly finding dangerous levels of radiation from Fukushima in our seafood products from the Pacific, not just from Japan. Eating seaweed might not be such a good idea. http://samuel-warde.com/2013/08/radioactive-bluefin-tuna-caught-off-california-coast/
 
clotilde August 27, 2013
That is a huge concern indeed. Most seaweed sold in France comes from our Atlantic coastline, but the nori sheets found at Asian markets are usually imported from Korea.
 
M. B. August 26, 2013
This looks amazing, will definitely give it a try! Is it something you could toss in to rice noodles?
 
clotilde August 27, 2013
I hadn't thought of tossing it with noodles, but that's a great idea -- will try soon!
 
Merrill S. August 26, 2013
This is such a great concept -- I'll admit I've been a timid seaweed eater in the past, but this looks like something I have to try!
 
clotilde August 27, 2013
I feel this is a good way to dip your toes into the seaweed pool, so to speak. :) I hope you try it!