Clotilde Dusoulier's Seaweed Tartare

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.

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.

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