Seaweed Brown Butter Pasta: Easy, umami-packed — and a 'gateway recipe for seaweed skeptics'

We were instantly drawn to this recipe from Hetty Lui McKinnon’s Tenderheart: A Cookbook About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds. It’s full of umami, simple to assemble — and vegan if you want it to be. And for whoever needs to hear it, McKinnon says it will convert anyone on the fence about seaweed. 

Seaweed Brown Butter Pasta

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Consider this a gateway recipe for seaweed skeptics. The compound butter, spiked with seaweed, is a revelation — deeply savoury, with hints of the sea, it is an incredibly versatile ingredient, which can also be served with roasted vegetables or spread onto crusty bread. Dulse is a red lettuce-like leaf that grows wild on the shorelines of the Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans. Sold dried, it is unique in that it can be eaten raw as a snack (a tip from my friends in Nova Scotia). When pan-fried or toasted, it takes on smoky and intensely savoury characteristics that are reminiscent of bacon. Browning the butter brings out nuttiness and depth, offering so many layers of irresistible flavour.

For gluten-free • use gluten-free pasta

Vegan

Vegetable swap • dulse: dried hijiki

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup (6 g) dried dulse
• 8 tbsp (112 g) unsalted regular or vegan butter, at room temperature
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼-½ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 lb (450 g) linguine or other long pasta shape
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots or 1 yellow onion, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp white (shiro) miso
• Sea salt
• Handful of grated sharp cheese, for topping (optional)
• Store-bought vegan furikake, to serve (optional)

Preparation

Place a small skillet over the lowest heat setting and add the dulse. Toast, stirring often, for 10 minutes, until it is crispy and feels very dry (take care not to burn it). 

Place the dulse in a blender or food processor and pulse four or five times until it looks like chunky crumbs (you can also use a mortar and pestle). Slice the butter into smaller pieces and add it to the seaweed, along with the salt and red pepper flakes. Pulse another four or five times until blended — it doesn’t have to be completely smooth.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup (240 ml) of the pasta cooking water. 

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add the shallots or onion and cook for 8-10 minutes, until very soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the seaweed butter. The butter will foam as it melts — once melted, cook for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes toasty brown, with a rich nutty aroma. Immediately add the miso paste and stir vigorously to combine with the butter (you could use a small whisk to do this if you prefer). Add the pasta, along with ½ cup (120 ml) of the pasta cooking water and toss well to coat. If the pasta needs a bit more moisture, add a little more of the pasta cooking water. Taste and, if required, season with sea salt. 

Top with the cheese and furikake if desired. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 

From Tenderheart: A Cookbook About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds. © 2023 by Hetty Lui McKinnon. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.