For those of you that didn't know Marcus has been broadening his horizons.
I have just started reading Marcus Harrison's latest offering. "Cooking With Seaweed: 101+ways." I like the fact that it's small, just 136 pages including the recipe index at the back
I have liked seaweed as a food stuff for a long time, however I rarely have it unless I am eating Chinese Food, I can still remember the first time I ate seaweed at a chinese restaraunt, it came after the crab and sweetcorn soup, I was a kid at the time and I still like the stuff nearly 40 years on.
The Author starts the book with the fact that although western people tend to think of seaweed as a survival food it's actually got a long history of use in many countries and cultures. As a means of demonstrating this he cites a survival situation from 1697 where the "Ann from Yarmouth" under the command of Thomas Allison had been forced to harbour up due to winter weather for about 5 months. Allison recalls in his journals that "some of the Scottish crew" were quite familiar with gathering and cooking of certain types of seaweed.
The next section he has dedicated to the identification whilst foraging for Seaweed and their main types. Marcus has explained that there are literally hundreds of types of seaweed in Northern European waters, but that only a handfull of which are useful as food. Marcus has then talked briefly about the many Seaweeds in use in asian cuisine and that many are available from Asian Markets.
Marcus does mention that there are always considerations to be taken into account when harvesting seaweed (locations, tides and potential for polutants).
A point to note on this, I've read a number of Marcus's books and I have never seen a photograph in one, so don't expect nice glossy piccies. I have asked in the past "why?" and his answer was simple enough "If you put in line drawings people are more likely to do their own research as to identification, which is far more valuable than just one picture in a book."
From page eight through to page fifteen Marcus has included 8 line drawings and 10 descriptions of seaweed commonly found in European waters with tips on identification and where on the seashore / sea edge they can be found including Dabberlocks, Oarweed, Sugar kelp, Sea Spaghetti, Laver, Dulse and Gutweed. Once he has described the ones that we can forage for he turns his pen to those that can be commercially bought from asian supermarkets including Kombu, Wakame and Hiziki. He describes what they are like and what they can be used in substitute for (quite handy in my book).
On page 17 Marcus has placed in a page on the "Seaweed Preparation and Recipes", please don't scoot over this page as the information on here is relevant to every single page following.
So far we have done the massive total of 18 pages, and at this point this becomes a cookery book
He starts with soups. Marcus uses short, but adequate instructions on preparing the soups, then moves onto salads, vegetables dishes, fish dishes, meat dishes and finishing with breads and desserts.
I may have to give the haddock and seaweed crumble a go or add some seaweed to Chilli con Carne (it's mentioned in the book).
I now have some Wakame, which I am considering using in a stir fry with some noodles, fish and things.
In short the book is short, the majority of it being turned over to recipes, which I've got to say isn't what I was expecting, however in it's briefness it's easily read and I found myself wanting to try recipes which I had scanned over, not because there was a lovely glossy photograph (there aren't any as mentioned before), but because I liked the sound of it. It's also sparked a little invention, I want to give something different a go and this has given me ideas which are sometimes lacking when it comes to peoples diet.
If you are looking for a definitive guide to identification this is not it, however if you already have seashore foraging books then this is a very good addition to the library, which is simple and concise.
I like the idea of using seaweed and for any of you that maybe interested, Marcus has got an early bird launch price of £7.99 with £2 P&P on his website, I have no idea how long that will last. Enjoy
I have just started reading Marcus Harrison's latest offering. "Cooking With Seaweed: 101+ways." I like the fact that it's small, just 136 pages including the recipe index at the back
I have liked seaweed as a food stuff for a long time, however I rarely have it unless I am eating Chinese Food, I can still remember the first time I ate seaweed at a chinese restaraunt, it came after the crab and sweetcorn soup, I was a kid at the time and I still like the stuff nearly 40 years on.
The Author starts the book with the fact that although western people tend to think of seaweed as a survival food it's actually got a long history of use in many countries and cultures. As a means of demonstrating this he cites a survival situation from 1697 where the "Ann from Yarmouth" under the command of Thomas Allison had been forced to harbour up due to winter weather for about 5 months. Allison recalls in his journals that "some of the Scottish crew" were quite familiar with gathering and cooking of certain types of seaweed.
The next section he has dedicated to the identification whilst foraging for Seaweed and their main types. Marcus has explained that there are literally hundreds of types of seaweed in Northern European waters, but that only a handfull of which are useful as food. Marcus has then talked briefly about the many Seaweeds in use in asian cuisine and that many are available from Asian Markets.
Marcus does mention that there are always considerations to be taken into account when harvesting seaweed (locations, tides and potential for polutants).
A point to note on this, I've read a number of Marcus's books and I have never seen a photograph in one, so don't expect nice glossy piccies. I have asked in the past "why?" and his answer was simple enough "If you put in line drawings people are more likely to do their own research as to identification, which is far more valuable than just one picture in a book."
From page eight through to page fifteen Marcus has included 8 line drawings and 10 descriptions of seaweed commonly found in European waters with tips on identification and where on the seashore / sea edge they can be found including Dabberlocks, Oarweed, Sugar kelp, Sea Spaghetti, Laver, Dulse and Gutweed. Once he has described the ones that we can forage for he turns his pen to those that can be commercially bought from asian supermarkets including Kombu, Wakame and Hiziki. He describes what they are like and what they can be used in substitute for (quite handy in my book).
On page 17 Marcus has placed in a page on the "Seaweed Preparation and Recipes", please don't scoot over this page as the information on here is relevant to every single page following.
So far we have done the massive total of 18 pages, and at this point this becomes a cookery book
He starts with soups. Marcus uses short, but adequate instructions on preparing the soups, then moves onto salads, vegetables dishes, fish dishes, meat dishes and finishing with breads and desserts.
I may have to give the haddock and seaweed crumble a go or add some seaweed to Chilli con Carne (it's mentioned in the book).
I now have some Wakame, which I am considering using in a stir fry with some noodles, fish and things.
In short the book is short, the majority of it being turned over to recipes, which I've got to say isn't what I was expecting, however in it's briefness it's easily read and I found myself wanting to try recipes which I had scanned over, not because there was a lovely glossy photograph (there aren't any as mentioned before), but because I liked the sound of it. It's also sparked a little invention, I want to give something different a go and this has given me ideas which are sometimes lacking when it comes to peoples diet.
If you are looking for a definitive guide to identification this is not it, however if you already have seashore foraging books then this is a very good addition to the library, which is simple and concise.
I like the idea of using seaweed and for any of you that maybe interested, Marcus has got an early bird launch price of £7.99 with £2 P&P on his website, I have no idea how long that will last. Enjoy
