Seaweed Pesto Pasta
A bowl of seaweed pesto pasta is an easy way to explore new uses for these wild marine plants.Rico thinks seaweed is magical, and loves sharing that it boasts the highest concentration of glutamates of any naturally growing food, and is why chefs in Japan use seaweed for umami. “It’s very easy to make your food taste better with seaweed,” he says, “and it’s cheap and regenerative, good for wildlife populations and is naturally organic.”
Ingredients
FOR THE PESTO
- ½ cup fresh sea lettuce*, loosely packed
- ½ cup fresh nori, loosely packed
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 4 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
- Sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice to taste
FOR THE PASTA
- ½ pound dried spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 shallots, peeled and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 6 oyster mushrooms, torn into strips
- ¾ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup toasted bread crumbs
- Extra basil leaves and Parmigiano, for garnish
Instructions
FOR THE PESTO
- Roughly chop nori, sea lettuce and basil. Add to a mortar and pestle, or food processor. Using a micro-grater, grate the garlic into the mortar and pestle. Add a pinch of salt and the pine nuts, and begin to grind into a paste. Slowly incorporate the olive oil as you grind, then mix in the Parmigiano, and season to taste with black pepper, sea salt and lemon juice.
- Each batch of seaweed is different, so taste as you go!
FOR THE PASTA
- Bring a medium stock pot full of salted water to a boil. Drop the pasta in and cook according to the instructions on the package.
- Meanwhile, in a sauté pan over medium heat, heat the butter and olive oil. Add the shallots, garlic, tomatoes and mushrooms and sauté until tender. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and once the alcohol is cooked off, add the cream. Bring the contents of the pan to a simmer, then add about half a cup of seaweed pesto and simmer over low heat.
- Once pasta is cooked, remove the noodles from the water, reserving the pasta water, and toss in the sauté pan until fully coated. If desired or necessary, adjust the consistency of the dish with the leftover pasta water.
- Serve the pasta in four bowls, and garnish with toasted bread crumbs, parmigiano, black pepper and basil leaves.
- *You can substitute dried wakame for fresh sea lettuce, as well as dried nori. To substitute, Rico recommends using only 10% of the weight (between ½ and 1 ounce) rehydrated in lukewarm water for a few minutes and drained.