Foray into Foraging
Galway Bay
My interest in seaweed was sparked in February when we took a tour at Connemara Abalone on the west coast of Ireland, in Galway Bay. The company farms Japanese abalone in tanks right off the shore with pumped seawater. Abalone eat kelp so they realized the importance of high quality kelp in the taste of the final product. Cindy, originally from California, started the business, and her daughter Sinead, born and bred in Ireland, became interested in seaweed as a result of their abalone farm and started her own business called Mungo Murphy’s Seaweed.
On an uncharacteristically sunny Irish day, Sinead led us around the tide pools and pointed out a few varieties of seaweed growing naturally on the rocks. She explained the names and what they’re good for (I should have taken notes since it was easy to forget) and encouraged us to taste them. I believe she said all seaweed is edible but some are tastier than others. She only suggested eating the good ones, and I was shocked by how delicious and fresh they tasted. Among the ones we tried the flavors varied from sweet to peppery, as diverse as broccoli to arugula (rocket as it’s called here). As these greens were wet from the sea, the sea salt acted as a delightful flavor enhancer as well.
After the abalone farm tour, it was time for the real seafood and seaweed tasting. While we waited for the abalone, Sinead brought out a salad of julienned carrots and seaweed in a light sesame dressing. It was simple yet surprisingly refreshing. Cindy brought out a dish of lightly seared fresh abalone (fresh is an understatement as we participated in cleaning them minutes earlier) alongside sautéed seaweed in garlic and butter. The seaweed was tastier and with a better consistency than similarly cooked land greens I’ve ever tasted (and of course the abalone was perfect but this post isn’t about that). We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Cindy & Sinead and purchased some Mungo Murphy’s seaweed soap, face mask, and cooking seasoning products on our way out.
Ballydavid, Dingle Penninsula
I’ve been wanting to forage for seaweed on my own ever since that visit but have not known where to start. We live in Dublin, very close to a beach, but its a really long shallow beach without tide pools. Farther south, still in Dublin county, there are some tide pools but I didn’t feel comfortable enough going out on my own and wasn’t sure about the water quality. Sinead had made it seem so easy but back in my neighborhood, I was intimidated.
Recently, on a trip in Dingle, I found a book on cooking Irish seaweed called The Sea Garden, by Marie Power. Based on her book, I knew how to spot bladder wrack when we were in Ballydavid, so I collected a couple handfuls for a seaweed bath at our B&B. (A bath seemed a much less intimidating place to start than in cooking). I believe you’d usually use much more seaweed than I did to get the full benefits in a bath, but I’m starting off small. See the next post for my intro to seaweed bath experience.
