by Surya Little
There are many variations on chowder recipes that can be made using dulse, one of my favorite sea vegetables. Chowders are usually comfort foods for warming up and there are several ways to create a thick creamy base that glides down your tummy. One way is to use dairy, but dairy has the tendency to create stiffness in people, so I prefer alternative methods.
Soup Base
kombu (8″ piece) cooked for an hour in
8 cups water
1 cup rolled oats
Chowder
2 onions
sesame oil
3 potatoes
2 medium carrots
2 small rutabagas
3 stalk celery
tamari (soy sauce)
1 pound fish
1 cup of dulse
2-3 cloves garlic
cayenne pepper
1 corn off the cob
parsley
To begin, cook kelp (kombu) for an hour or so until the alginates (the chelating agent in brown algae) goes into the soup base. In macrobiotics they call this flavorful base, Dashi.
Cook rolled oats for half an hour, adding water to create a soupy consistency and then blend in blender. (Another possibility is to use arrowroot and/or soy milk).
Once you’ve established the base, discard the kombu and add sauteed sliced onions with a sprinkle of salt and a lot of thyme. Use refined sesame oil. Sauteed garlic is a good addition.
While occasionally stirring the onions over low heat, slice potatoes, carrots, dice turnips and/or rutabaga and start them cooking. Turn off the onions when they’re translucent. Cut up fish (haddock, salmon, cod) in cubes and marinate in tamari until firm. Chop a stalk of celery. Add the fish to the pot when the roots are almost done. A few minutes later, add the celery then the onions and some finely cut dulse. If you like a bit of spice, sprinkle a bit of cayenne.
Corn can also be used (cut off the cob) and added in the last 5-10 minutes of simmering. Serve with a garnish of parsley on the second day. Try adding parsley of kale greens when you reheat the chowder. Green it up! This soup will taste even better on the second day!
About Seaweeds
By eating a small amount of this ancient form of life each day we experience the vitality of the ocean and align with the intelligence of the universe.
