Seaweed Sensation at Borough Market

When you think of Spain, seaweed is not exactly the first thing that springs to mind, but at Borough market, one Spanish company is selling all manner of seaweed products. From nori pasta to wakame biscuits, dried sea lettuce to kombu tea – it’s all there.

For some, Borough Market has become a bit of an over-priced tourist spot, rather than the true home of gastronomic delights it should be. These days there is an inordinately large number of stalls selling glistening olives or big wheels of attractive looking cheeses, and with companies such as Flavours of Spain there, you can’t exactly say the product range is dull.

Flavours of Spain started trading at Borough Market in autumn 2008 and, rather than the usual Spanish products of saffron and olive oil, their stall is mainly populated by quality tinned seafood and an array of seaweed. They do actually sell the standard Spanish fare, but at Borough they are limited to a small range of Galician products by the powers that be.

So, why seaweed? ‘We didn’t want to be just another Spanish company selling chorizo and Serrano ham,’ says company owner Ana Caballero. ‘We wanted to offer something a little more unusual, and seaweed is actually becoming quite a big thing in Spain at the moment. Around 350 restaurants in Spain currently have seaweed on their menus and it’s not just the experimental chefs. Our range is also natural, healthy and sustainable. It’s harvested in the clean waters of Galicia.’

Do they really think that seaweed will take off in the UK?

‘We hope so,’ says co-owner Teresa Holmes. ‘It seems that seaweed is currently one of the remaining food taboos in this country, but interest is growing. Japanese cuisine is pretty popular these days, so most people have come across wakame and nori. We just need to get them thinking about it in a broader way.’

On some days people look at their stall with mild bemusement, on others they show interest and even familiarity. Personally, I’m interested, so I decide to take home a few bags of dried seaweed, opting for nori – not the toasted sheets used for sushi rolls, but the dried, flaked, natural algae, and sea spaghetti – yes, it really does look a bit like textured linguine and you cook it in the same way too. As well as Irish moss – traditionally used as a gelling agent in puddings.

Following some tips from the girls, my own research and a bit of experimentation, I came up with some dishes I am pretty happy with. The nori has an almost olive like flavour when roasted with almonds and the Irish moss milk pudding I made was surprisingly tasty and refreshing without even a hint of fish.

So, do I think seaweed will take off in London, and the UK? I hope so, but it’ll be a while before 350 restaurants are serving it.

Flavours of Spain are located at Borough Market every Saturday.

Borough Market
Borough High Street, Stoney Street and Winchester Walk
Southwark
SE1 1TL

www.flavoursofspain.co.uk

Borough Market image by rendomthoughts courtesy of Flickr