Thanks to my lovely new friend Bea from Portomuinos I have some fabulous new foods to try and to write about. Portomuinos is a family firm, based in Spain selling all sorts of seaweed and seaweed based foods. They have recently branched out to include other sea-products in their range, including sea urchin and monkfish liver.
I decided I would start with the simplest product Bea sent me, canned Sea Spaghetti.
The Sea Spaghetti is a dark olive green and smells of the sea - it's not overpowering at all, but you would immediately know where this vegetable grew, even if you hadn't seen the label. I popped a bit straight in my mouth to try. Salty, but not too salty and not rubbery at all, which was something I'd been fearing.
I started off with an easy recipe, as there was just me to feed that night, and used half a can to mix in with scrambled eggs. Wonderful!
The following evening I needed to try it with something a little more adventurous, and decided on a Chinese-style dish - Pork with Cashew Nuts & Seaweed:
Serves 2
- 2 pork loin steaks, cut into strips
- 1-2 tbsp clear honey
- 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Handful of cashew nuts
- Sea spaghetti, drained
- Mix the honey, soy sauce and lemon juice together and add the pork strips. Stir to coat and leave for at least 5 minutes
- Heat a little oil in a frying pan or wok and add the pork and marinade. Cook for about 4-5 minutes until the pork is almost cooked. Stir regularly to turn the pork
- Add the sea spaghetti and cashew nuts and cook for another couple of minutes, until the pork is cooked, then serve
We ate ours with new potatoes and salad, but it would be great with rice too.
I thought the sea spaghetti cooked really well, it didn't go tough at all. Stephen's verdict on sea spaghetti was "delicious" which is very, very high praise, coming from a man who doesn't trust vegetables, especially green ones!
I met the Portomuinos team at the Good Food Show in Birmingham, so watch out for them at food festivals and for their products in your local deli.
I has been looking forward to the Godalming Food Festival all week, and it didn't disappoint. The weather was fantastic and my daughter and I were up and about early, so thought we'd go down straight away - also, I was worried that Pimpernel Fisheries would run out of their fabulous fish cakes before I got there. Thankfully there were still some left, so that was dinner sorted.
Pimpernel Fisheries stall is always beautifully presented, as you can see below. Gill also had some samphire for sale, which I love and which so rarely available, I had to get a bag to go with the fish cakes at dinner.
I was admiring the display and commenting that the seaweed really added to the presentation when she told me that they had discovered, by chance, that it also seemed to keep the flies away. So, if you are having a picnic on the beach, grab yourself some seaweed before you unpack the food.
Taking a break from the shopping, we watched the new Godalming Community Gospel Choir
They were excellent (after a few false starts due to microphone feedback) and it's hard to believe they've only being going a few months.
Then it was off for more tasting and shopping. Next up was a block of Sussex Charmer Cheese which I find is a great all rounder cheese. I use it in cooking, sandwiches and on a cheeseboard.
The final section of the market was the Italian Market, with wonderful breads, salami, cheeses, cakes, oils and vinegars.
Finally, as we walked back to the bus stop (a free shuttle bus was laid on all day courtesy of Toy Box - much appreciated by all, as Godalming has some really steep hills) there was a final delight - opera singers in Waitrose Car Park! Oh yes, the culture's not just in the yogurt in Godalming!
