SuperSeaweed
About the Recipe
Lasagna is an Italian classic, enjoyed the world over. I’m sure you’ve almost certainly had lasagna before, but have you ever tried it with seaweed? Red seaweeds (one of the three main categories of seaweeds) go especially well with Italian cuisine and cooked tomato. Perhaps no seaweed is suited to this Italian dish than a seaweed which’s name was itself inspired by pasta: sea spaghetti! Sea spaghetti is not only be delicious (with a strong and salty flavor, not dissimilar to fish), but is also high in iodine, magnesium, calcium, and many the key nutrients. It also isn’t just named after spaghetti, since it naturally grows in long thin lines likened to spaghetti, it is often consumed as a replacement to pasta in many dishes! One should be careful when cooking it however, as ,like many other seaweeds, the cooking process can cause it to loose much of its nutritional value, especially when cooked or boiled for an extended period of time. That aside, this recipe was originally created by my mother, with her full permission, has been recreated with the addition of sea spaghetti.
This lasagna is both comforting and surprisingly easy to make. this makes for a wonderful mid-week diner for a cold winter’s night. Whether you’re vegetarian or not, I hope gives you a chance to enjoy seaweed in more of your meals!
Ingredients
2 large handfuls of spinach
1 small aubergine, cut into thin slices
Olive oil
1 large courgette, sliced into thin strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 punnet Chestnut mushrooms, grated
Dried herb seasoning/ oregano
20g dried sea spaghetti
1 large tomato, sliced
1 large jar tomato sauce
1 pack lasagna noodles
1 pack ricotta cheese
1 large handful fresh basil
1 pack mozzarella
1 small onion, finely diced
Preparation
Pre-heat oven to…..
Measure sea spaghetti into colander. If not already this size, snap into small slices with your fingers, no longer than an inch in length. Rinse under tap, and add to a small bowl. Top with fresh water, just enough to ensure all is covered, but no more than this. The nutrients often start to dissolve in fresh water, which is why it is best to minimize the amount it’s in. Cover and set aside for later
On a medium-high temperature, heat a skillet on a hob with a little vegetable oil on the bottom. After a couple of minutes, add sliced courgette. Fry for a couple of minutes, then flip and continue to cook until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside for later.
Repeat step 2, now with the sliced aubergine. This may require more time, at lease 3-5 minutes per side, as aubergine can take a while to cook. Once done, remove from pan and set aside for later
Heat the pan once more with a dash of olive oil at the bottom. Once the pan is of a sufficient heat, add the garlic and onion and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Once both are a golden brown, stir in the grated chestnut mushrooms and continue to fry for 5-10 minutes, until soft, stirring constantly.
While continuing to cook, add tomato sauce and stir in dried oregano/herb seasoning and spinach.
Drain sea-spaghetti, set aside a small bunch for later and stir the rest into the tomato sauce/mushroom mix.
Top a large and deep baking dish, with a thin layer of lasagna noodles (this will likely require multiple sheets for a full coverage).
Top noodles with a fifth of the tomato and sea spaghetti mix.
Top sauce with a quarter of the ricotta
Topping ricotta with lasagna noodles, repeat steps 7-9, until all ingredients for these steps are finished. Make sure your final step is to put lasagna noodles on top.
Top lasagna noodles with mozzarella, the remaining tomatoes sauce, and finally the sliced tomatoes.
Finally, garnish with a sprinkling of the fresh basil, and the remaining sea spaghetti.
Place tray in oven and cook for ….. minutes.
Remove from oven and enjoy!