RedJohn
04-05-2011, 10:21 PM
For our friends living near the seas, I was wondering if cooking pasta with seawater was the same as cooking with salt added water in order to conserve fresh water. Looks like there are plenty recipes for seawater cooking.
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New Potatoes cooked in Seawater
Serves 4-5
2 lbs (900g) new potatoes e.g., Home Guard, British Queens
2 pints (1.2 litres) seawater or 2 pints (1.2 litres) tap water plus 1 teaspoon salt
a sprig of seaweed if available
Bring the seawater to the boil. Scrub the potatoes. Add salt if using tap water and a sprig of seaweed to the water, and then add the potatoes. Cover the saucepan, bring back to the boil and cook for 15-25 minutes or until fully cooked depending on size.
Drain and serve immediately in a hot serving dish with good Irish butter.
Note
It’s vitally important for flavour to add salt to the water when cooking potatoes.
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How to Cook Crab
Put the crab/s into a saucepan, cover with cold or barely lukewarm seawater, alternatively (use 6 ozs (175g) salt to every 2.3 litres (4 pints). This sounds like an incredible amount of salt but try it: the crab will taste deliciously sweet. Cover, bring to the boil and then simmer from there on, allowing 15 minutes for first 1 lb (450g), 10 minutes for the second and third (I’ve never come across a crab bigger than that!). We usually pour off two-thirds of the water as soon as it comes to the boil, cover and steam the crab for the remainder of the time. As soon as it is cooked remove it from the saucepan and allow to get cold.
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French Beans Cooked in Seawater
Serves 8
We’ve got a wonderful crop of French beans this summer. I find that they need a lot of salt in the cooking water to bring up the flavour, so seawater works perfectly. They don’t benefit from being kept in a hostess trolley, so if you need to cook them ahead try the method I suggest below. I think it works very well. The proportion of salt to water is vitally important for the flavour of the beans.
900g (2 lb) French beans
1.1 litres (2 pint) seawater or tap water plus 3 teaspoons sea salt
30-50g (1-2 oz) butter or extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
Top and tail the beans. If they are small and thin leave them whole, if they are larger cut them into 2.5-4cm (1-1 1/2 inch) pieces at an angle.
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New Potatoes cooked in Seawater
Serves 4-5
2 lbs (900g) new potatoes e.g., Home Guard, British Queens
2 pints (1.2 litres) seawater or 2 pints (1.2 litres) tap water plus 1 teaspoon salt
a sprig of seaweed if available
Bring the seawater to the boil. Scrub the potatoes. Add salt if using tap water and a sprig of seaweed to the water, and then add the potatoes. Cover the saucepan, bring back to the boil and cook for 15-25 minutes or until fully cooked depending on size.
Drain and serve immediately in a hot serving dish with good Irish butter.
Note
It’s vitally important for flavour to add salt to the water when cooking potatoes.
-----
How to Cook Crab
Put the crab/s into a saucepan, cover with cold or barely lukewarm seawater, alternatively (use 6 ozs (175g) salt to every 2.3 litres (4 pints). This sounds like an incredible amount of salt but try it: the crab will taste deliciously sweet. Cover, bring to the boil and then simmer from there on, allowing 15 minutes for first 1 lb (450g), 10 minutes for the second and third (I’ve never come across a crab bigger than that!). We usually pour off two-thirds of the water as soon as it comes to the boil, cover and steam the crab for the remainder of the time. As soon as it is cooked remove it from the saucepan and allow to get cold.
-----
French Beans Cooked in Seawater
Serves 8
We’ve got a wonderful crop of French beans this summer. I find that they need a lot of salt in the cooking water to bring up the flavour, so seawater works perfectly. They don’t benefit from being kept in a hostess trolley, so if you need to cook them ahead try the method I suggest below. I think it works very well. The proportion of salt to water is vitally important for the flavour of the beans.
900g (2 lb) French beans
1.1 litres (2 pint) seawater or tap water plus 3 teaspoons sea salt
30-50g (1-2 oz) butter or extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
Top and tail the beans. If they are small and thin leave them whole, if they are larger cut them into 2.5-4cm (1-1 1/2 inch) pieces at an angle.