When I was a kid, paper thin sheets of seaweed were one of my favorite snacks. In addition to munching on seaweed on its own, I would tear it up and sprinkle it over dishes, from ramen to popcorn. Thanks to Blue Evolution’s product lineup of seaweed products, my love for seaweed has reached a new high. Blue Evolution cultivates and harvests seaweed from sustainable farms along the Pacific Coast, rather than sourcing imported seaweed, to create seaweed infused pasta, organic seaweed popcorn, and kelp puree. The pasta and popcorn are tasty, but I love exploring different ways to use kelp puree in my cooking!
I partnered with Blue Evolution to bring you this post. As always, all opinions are my own.
Blue Evolution Seaweed Products
Seaweed Infused Pasta
Blue Evolution seaweed pasta contains two ingredients: durum wheat and seaweed. High in plant-based iodine, magnesium, and iron, this green-ish pasta has a delicate seaweed flavor that enhances pasta dishes. One of my favorite ways to enjoy seaweed pasta is in a chickpea tuna pasta salad, but the seaweed flavor enhances a variety of classic sauces, like marinara, alfredo, and pesto. Blue Evolution pasta comes in rotini and penne, so you can pick the right pasta shape for the dish you’re serving. Who doesn’t love the way the sauce clings to the spirals of rotini, right?
Organic Seaweed Popcorn
If you’re like me, popcorn used to be a snack reserved for the movie theater, but rarely eaten at home. Now that we’re approaching one year of staying home (#pandemiclife), my living room is my movie theater, and Blue Evolution organic seaweed popcorn makes a regular appearance as my healthy movie watching snack. Made with simple ingredients like organic popcorn kernels, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, and tamari sauce, seaweed popcorn is a light-yet-satisfying snack that’s packed with nutrients. It comes in four flavors: salt and vinegar, toasted sesame, turmeric ginger, and spicy citrus.
Kelp Puree
The newest member of Blue Evolution’s family of seaweed products is the Alaskan kombu kelp puree. I’ve seen others on the market, but they typically come in a jar, whereas Blue Evolution’s kelp puree comes in a convenient, resealable pouch. There’s no need for a spoon — just squeeze it from the pouch, eyeballing one tablespoon for each serving of your recipe. Packed with umami and nutrients, kelp puree is an easy way to add intense depth of flavor, while enhancing your cooking with iodine and vitamins A and B. At first, I explored the more obvious ways to use kelp puree, like soups and marinades, but soon discovered you can use it wherever you’d like to add a boost of umami richness and health benefits — even in baked goods and desserts!
How to Use Kelp Puree
Soups and Stews
During the colder months, a blended broccoli soup is one of my favorite things to make. I often roast the broccoli to give the soup a richer flavor, but when I’m short on time or feeling like taking a short cut, a generous squeeze of kelp puree in this vibrant green soup does the trick. The kelp puree is a great flavor enhancer that works well in hearty chili, cream soups, vegetable stews, and more.
Sauces, Dressings, Marinades
Any foodie knows that a good sauce, dressing, or marinade can take a dish to the next level. Kelp puree is an easy way to amp up the flavor in just about any sauce, dressing, or marinade you can dream up: ranch, sesame ginger, lemon vinaigrette, BBQ sauce… the options are endless! I added a squeeze of puree to my homemade creamy lemon dressing made of vegan mayo, lemon juice, and black pepper. Drizzle it over a bowl of vegan curry chicken and sauteed kale with brown rice for a satisfying meal.
Pasta Sauces
Since Blue Evolution seaweed pasta works so well in pasta dishes, from spaghetti marinara to macaroni and cheese, I naturally had to experiment with adding kelp puree to pasta dishes too. I prefer to make my own pasta sauce from scratch, but if you are short on time and using a store-bought sauce, kelp puree does wonders. This vegan bolognese-style pasta made with a jar of marinara sauce, “beef” crumbles, kelp puree, and cashew parmesan didn’t last long!
Asian Dishes
Seaweed and Asian style dishes, especially those with soy sauce, go hand in hand. You can use the kelp puree in the same way that you would use miso paste, whether it’s with noodles, rice, tofu, or vegetables. When I cook a batch of congee, I typically use shiitake mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and dried kelp as the cooking base. However, the puree works perfectly too. This bowl of congee, simmered with kelp puree, then dressed with soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster mushrooms, greens, scallions, chili oil, and sesame seeds was so comforting on a snowy day.
Smoothies
Kick up your smoothie game! While seaweed lends itself perfectly to green smoothies made with leafy greens, it also works surprisingly well in fruit smoothies for a unique flavor combination. I drink a smoothie almost every single day, and blueberry and kale blended with an apple and frozen banana is my go-to smoothie. Adding a tablespoon of kelp puree adds an intriguing flavor, which I complemented with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. What do you think of kelp puree in smoothies?
Desserts and Baked Goods
Wait, what… seaweed and desserts?! You got that right! Go beyond savory dishes and incorporate kelp puree in your favorite baked treats. Not only does it add vitamins and minerals, it deepens the flavor of the dessert. It’s an especially delicious addition to chocolate treats. I’ll admit it felt strange squeezing kelp puree into my stand mixer and getting notes of the ocean among rich dark cocoa, but the finished product was simply divine.
How Do You Use Kelp Puree?
If you enjoyed my ideas for how to use kelp puree, snap a photo and share it with me and Blue Evolution on Instagram by tagging @waz.wu and @BlueEvolution. We’d love to see your creations!
Note: SPONSORED. This post is in collaboration with Blue Evolution. This was not in exchange for a positive review and all opinions expressed here are my own.
No Comments