Americani Mari Smeraldino di “Pasta” 
(American Emerald Sea of “Pasta”)
The Recipe Redux – May, 2012: Little Treasures of the Sea
This recipe marks my first contribution to the The Recipe Redux, an online recipe food challenge for healthy food bloggers. I love all seafood, so I was super excited to learn that for my first challenge I was to utilize any little treasure of the sea.
I chose kelp. For this “pasta” dish, in place of traditional fettuccine, this dish has noodles made entirely of kelp, which is not only more nutrient dense, but also cooks much faster than pasta with flour. It’s good food fast!
No kelp for sale at your local grocer? No worries- just order it from online. I had mine delivered right to my front door from Ocean Approved, a kelp farm that grows and harvests it right off the shores of Portland, Maine (USA grown!) All of their product is pre-cooked and frozen right after it’s harvested, so your shipment sent to Anywhere, USA will be just as fresh as if you drove yourself to Vacationland to buy it. Ocean Approved’s kelp is even sold in the fettuccine noodle shapes used in this recipe, so no need to break out the pasta cutter.
I originally planned for sesame seeds but, luckily, at the last minute I realized I was out of stock. So I substituted chia seeds instead. Not only does it give a nice little crunch, but with chia’s antioxidants and omega-3, it ups the healthy factor even more for the dish.
If you would like a heartier meal, I recommend serving this dish alongside a serving of Forbidden (black) rice.
INGREDIENTS
4 ounces Kelp noodles, thawed, drained
2 medium Oranges, washed
1/2 tablespoon Tamari, low-sodium, gluten-free
1/2 teaspoon Rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon Chili sauce
1/8 teaspoon Mustard powder
1 teaspoon Grapeseed oil
2 large Garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon Ginger, fresh, peeled, minced
1/3 cup Onion, peeled, sliced
1/3 cup Carrots, cut into matchsticks
1/3 cup Red pepper, seeded, diced
1/3 cup Yellow pepper, seeded, diced
5 medium Cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 teaspoon Arrowroot powder (OR cornstarch)
1 teaspoon Chia seeds
1 tablespoon Scallions, sliced (optional)
PREPARATION
Take one orange and with a fine zester, grate about a teaspoon of orange zest. Put zest into a medium mixing bowl. If desired, with a large zester, make about 10 long orange zest pieces and set aside for garnish (optional). Cut zested orange in half and juice completely; add juice to the small zest in the medium mixing bowl.
Take the second orange and peel, then section into wedges. Set aside.
To the orange zest and juice in the medium mixing bowl, add the tamari, sesame oil, rice vinegar and chili sauce. Stir to combine. This is your sauce.
Heat a wok, or large fry pan, over high heat. While wok heats, in a small bowl add a few drops of water to the arrowroot and stir to form a thick liquid. Set aside near wok.
Add the grapeseed oil to the hot wok. Add the onion and saute for about two minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic, ginger and carrot and continue to saute, tossing food often, for another two minutes. Add peppers and saute another minute. Add the kelp noddles and sauce and toss ingredients together while cooking, about 15 seconds.
Give the arrowroot mix a quick stir then pour into pan and stir until arrowroot thickens the sauce, about 10-20 seconds. Remove pan from heat and add orange and tomato wedges and gently toss to mix.
Plate the pasta. Garnish dish with chia seeds. If desired, also garnish with scallions and the large orange zests.
Serves 2
