Dulse (latin name: Palmaria
palmata) is nothing less than sea bacon.
One of the wonders of the seaweed world is Palmaria palmata. This species, more
commonly known as dulse or dillisk, has one extraoridnary property:
you can make it taste like bacon. And there’s more good news: you don’t need to
be a star chef in order to do so. Want to learn how? Read on!
Heat it up!
There are a few things that make bacon taste like bacon.
First of all, there’s the protein content. Bacon contains about 30% protein.
And – surprisingly - so does dulse. Second is the umami flavour. What? Well,
it’s a kind of fashionable way to say ‘savoury’. Just like bacon, dulse
naturally has a lot of umami. The only thing you need to do to make it come
out, is to heat it up.
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Fried eggs with dulse. One of my favorites!
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Fat is your friend
But then, there’s one thing in which bacon and dulse are not
alike: fat content. While bacon contains about 40% fat, dulse only has 2… So to
make Palmaria palmata taste like
bacon, you need to add fat. This seems like an unhealthy problem, but… Why not
choose for good fat? Olive oil, coconut oil and– my personal f(l)avorite - sesame oil - are great ways of enhancing the lipid content
and flavour of your meal.
Enjoy!
So to make dulse taste like bacon, there’s only 2 things you
need to do:
1) choose a (healthy) oil.
2) bake the Dulse in it. Just for a minute or 2.
When you see the colour start to change from dark red to
lighter red, then it’s ready. Great to eat with fried eggs, in salads, with
pasta, or… well, anywhere.
Enjoy your sea bacon!
Toine
Your seaweedman