As the human population continues to increase we are putting more and more land under the plough either to feed ourselves or the livestock we consequently consume. Mono-culture requires the removal of native vegetation and often the introduction of artificial fertilizers to increase yields from poor soils which have not previously been consider viable for agriculture. This inevitably creates green deserts where native wildlife is either unwelcome of cannot find suitable food. It increases the production of CO2 as industrial scale food production relies heavily on agricultural and commercial machinery. Moreover in the very long term we are heading towards a situation where there simple will be more viable land available. But are we missing the obvious?
Our landmass only actually occupies 29.2% of the surface area of the planet. In actual fact the correct name for our planet should be Ocean and not Earth. Wherever the water is relatively shallow seaweeds of numerous varieties thrive. They require no fertilizers, do not compete for land space and naturally reduce CO2 in their surroundings and assist in cleaning the waters of the Oceans. The Chinese and more often the Japanese use limited amounts of seaweed for culinary purposes. Seaweed is also farming commercially for constituents used in pharmaceutical products, cosmetics and various industrial applications. There have also been experiments conducted in its use to manufacture bio-diesel and petrol substitutes. There is nothing new about obtaining fuel from seaweed. In the 1960s and 1970s, American researchers showed methane could be extracted. However, their experiments were abandoned because of problems with growing the plant off the Californian coast. But little research has been undertaken in the use of seaweed as a commercial foodstuff. After all seaweed has some obvious advantages. Unlike terrestrial plants the poisons arms race has not been embarked upon by oceanic plants, there are no known species which are poisonous. In the simplest form a commercial seaweed farm needs nothing more than a few weights, some old rope and some floats. Additionally a seaweed farm is essentially a three dimensional use of space. You can't stack field one on pop of another on land....
In it's raw untreated form most seaweed looks relatively unappealing, but so does a great deal of what we already eat. A bowl of unmilled wheat is pretty hard going on your teeth and is aesthetically unappealing as a snack, but a few thousand years of practice has resulted in our ability to produce soft white bread from it, amongst a plethora of other products. With their appealing eyes and perpetual grass chewing young bullocks don't send most people looking for a steak knife etc... So processing would be required to produce tasty and appealing food stuffs.
I'm sure we have the technology available already to produce perfectly acceptable breakfast non-cerials, ocean grown pasta shells and our Celtic cousins already have the Laverbread market cornered. Who know is years to come your salted deep fried cabbage might actually be seaweed, a bit of a reversal for the Chinese restaurants.....
Ingredients:-
1 pack of ready rolled puff pastry
8 large scallops in their shells
1 leek
100g cubed pancetta
30g butter
50ml vermouth
50ml double cream
400ml fish stock
1 egg, beaten
Method:-
1. In a frying pan melt the butter on a medium heat and fry off the pancetta.
2. Chop the leek, if you have a food processor with chopping function this will save time. Add the leek to the pancetta and reduce the heat. Sweat the leek down until the pancetta is well cooked and the leek is well softened. Season well.
3. In a pan, reduce the fish stock until you have something resembling a syrup, about 100ml liquid. Add the vermouth and cream. Reduce, taste and season. Stir into the leek and pancetta pan.
4. Clean the scallops. Take them out of their shells, cut off the roes and discard. Give 4 of the shells a really good clean.
5. On a baking tray make 4 ‘nests’ out of foil (these are to place the scallops on so that they stay upright.)
6. Place the shells on top of the foil nests, evenly spoon the creamed leek and pancetta mixture between the scallop shells and place 2 scallops on top of the mixture in each shell. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Cut the puff pastry sheet into 4 and indent a scallop shell so you have a lovely shell indentation on the pastry. Place over the shells with the indentation facing up. Shear off the spare pastry with your hands and press lightly to seal. Glaze with egg wash and rest again in fridge for another 30 minutes.
8. Cook in preheated oven 190°C for 15 minutes.
Courecy of The Food Network - http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/recipes/scallops-pancetta-and-julienne-leeks-puff-pastry-lids.html
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For those of you who are not overly keen on Turkey, or are simply looking for an alternative this year this is the fifth in our series of alternative Christmas dishes. You can find the previous suggestions here.
Ingredients:-
1 - 5 to 6 pound pork shoulder
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
Salt and black pepper
Olive oil
Method:-
(1) Heat oven to 200C with a rack in the middle position. Score the skin of the pork in a criss-cross diamond pattern.
(2) Mix the garlic, herbs, salt and pepper into sufficient olive oil to make a thin paste.
(3) Turn the pork skin-side down and rub with the paste. Repeat over the skin side rubbing into the scores. Place on a rimmed baking sheet.
(4) Roast the pork for 1 hour. Reduce heat to 180C and continue to roast until the skin is very crispy and pulls away from the meat easily, 2 to 2½ hours more.
North African cuisine draws inspiration from European, African, and Arabic culinary traditions. From the tagines of Morocco to the harissa-spiced dishes of Tunisia, these flavour packed recipes are perfect for any occasion. Although it is probably impossible to say where the concept of pot roasting originated, this North African brisket pot roast is packed with traditional flavours.
Ingredients:-
1 cup dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight in water
1 medium onion, chopped
4 Carrots cut into generous slices
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 lbs of brisket
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch slices
3 large eggs
3 -4 cups chicken stock
salt and black pepper
Method:-
1. Combine the chickpeas, onion, garlic, raisins, pepper, cinnamon, mace, and turmeric in a clay pot or casserole dish.
2. Place the meat on the chickpea mixture.
3. Arrange the sweet potatoes, carrots and whole eggs around the meat.
4. Add enough stock so the meat and eggs are nearly covered.
5. Cover the pot and place in a cold oven.
6. Set the oven temperature to 160C.
7. Cook for about 4 hours, until the meat is tender, adding liquid as needed so the eggs are always at least partly submerged.
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