Sea Lettuce or ulva lactuca is a pale and transparent green alga with broad, thin blades which thrives in brackish water on rocks, sand and shellfish. Rich in protein and iron while low in fat, sea lettuce has a briny flavor and works very well as an oceanic seasoning in salads and soups. This seaweed can be lightly blanched or added directly to dishes after a rinse with fresh water. Alternately, it can be toasted to a crisp texture or dehydrated and crushed into flakes as in the Japanese preparation of aonori which is commonly sprinkled over bowls of rice, yakisoba and okonomiyaki. In powdered form it makes for an excellent addition to flour for batters and breads. This seaweed is fresh and salted. It should be rinsed for thirty seconds three times in fresh water before being used in the kitchen.
A family company with two generations at work collecting wild seaweed from the Galician coast of northwestern Spain where the Atlantic meets the Cantabrian sea. Porto Muinos combine underwater diving with coastal rock harvesting when the tide is low to bring a variety of seaweeds to market through regulated and sustainable means and with great respect for the coastal ecosystem they inhabit.
