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Enjoy this story from our archive, originally sent to TT members on .

Butter Up

Seaweed washes ashore in the breadbasket

If using prepared momoya paste, simply add 2 tablespoons to the butter and sea-salt mixture in step 2.

Umami-rich seaweed is popping up in the most unexpected ways. It rims cocktails at Chicago’s Yusho (one of Tasting Table’s picks for the top cocktails of 2012) and is fried into chips at San Francisco’s Saison. But at the new Nashville restaurant Rolf and Daughters, chef Philip Krajeck is whipping momoya, a seaweed-and-dashi paste, into butter. As a child, Krajek traveled to coastal Normandy, where seaweed-flecked beurre and brioche were routine table toppers. Now he brings a taste of Normandy to his Nashville breadbasket. If you can’t find momoya, no worries: Krajek shared his recipe for a homemade version that we’re happy to break bread over.

Seaweed Butter

Recipe adapted from Philip Krajeck, Rolf and Daughters, Nashville, TN

Yield: ½ pound seaweed butter, plus extra seaweed paste

  • INGREDIENTS
  • Seaweed Paste*

    5 sheets kombu, rinsed with cold water

    2 tablespoons plus 1½ teaspoons soy sauce

    1¼ teaspoons sweet soy sauce

    2 tablespoons rice vinegar

    2½ teaspoons mirin

    1 tablespoon granulated sugar

     

    Seaweed Butter

    ½ pound high-quality unsalted butter, at room temperature

    ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus more for serving

    1 small baguette, thinly sliced on a bias

    1 bunch radishes

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan set over high heat, add the kombu, soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin and granulated sugar. Add enough water to cover the kombu completely. Bring the liquid to a simmer over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the kombu is very tender, 2 to 3 hours. Strain the mixture into a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl, reserving the cooking liquid. Transfer the kombu to a blender and add ¼ cup of the cooking liquid. Blend until a thick, smooth purée forms, adding more cooking liquid as needed. Transfer the seaweed paste to an airtight container and cool completely before using. (Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.)

2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, ¼ cup of the prepared seaweed paste (or 2 tablespoons of momoya) and the sea salt. Beat the mixture together until combined and lightly aerated, about 5 minutes. Serve the seaweed butter with the baguette slices, radishes and additional sea salt.

*Recipe Note: The seaweed paste can be substituted with 2 tablespoons of the prepared seaweed paste called momoya.

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About The Chef

Philip Krajek staged at Upstate New York’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns and New York City’s Gramercy Tavern, Marea and Chanterelle before moving south to Atlanta, Georgia, to become the chef de partie at the now closed Joël Restaurant. He moved farther south, to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, to be the chef de cuisine at Fish Out of Water for six years. He opened Rolf and Daughters in Nashville, Tennessee, in the fall of 2012.

Rolf and Daughters, 700 Taylor St., Nashville, TN; 615-866-9897 or rolfanddaughters.com

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