A Martini with Kelp Chips / Crisps

This is the yin and the yang of healthy seaweed with (ahem) a slightly less healthy martini. Kelp is a super food, and very tasty. If you can (sustainably) forage it nearby, this is an easy way to enjoy it with a drink. The steps I don’t season mine. It has enough salt and iodine flavouring already. However, if you want to season it, I … Continue reading A Martini with Kelp Chips / Crisps

Hebridean Blue Cheese

This is a delicious, sharp but creamy cheese that goes really nicely with a martini. The Hebrides are a beautiful – if wet – constellation of islands located off the west coast of Scotland. One of these islands is the Isle of Mull, which like many places in this part of the world, has a wealth of culinary produce. Much of this produce goes exceedingly … Continue reading Hebridean Blue Cheese

A Spicy Martini with Seaweed Hot Sauce

There is something deeply tantalising about the way a spicy martini whets your appetite. I think it goes especially well if the martini is to be followed by seafood, especially shellfish. You can make a spicy martini with all sorts of hot sauces, including Tabasco or Sriracha, but I cannot think of a more perfect hot sauce to use for a pre-seafood aperitif than this … Continue reading A Spicy Martini with Seaweed Hot Sauce

A Roasted Seaweed Snack

If you live somewhere around the UK coast, you may have access to gutweed (Ulva intestinalis), which you can harvest, wash and roast into a highly tasty snack. If the sea in your area is clean, head to a rocky beach and seek out rockpools, and/or areas where fresh water runs into the sea. Here you may find bright green, but somewhat unappetisingly named ‘gutweed’. … Continue reading A Roasted Seaweed Snack

Even more Izakaya food

If you’re wondering about what snacks to serve with a martini, you will find endless inspiration in the world of Izakaya. Izakaya can be roughly described as relaxed and usually low-cost Japanese gastro-pubs. I have written about them quite a bit before, mainly because of their warm atmosphere and inspiring array of tasty menu items that go very well with a martini. Quite a lot … Continue reading Even more Izakaya food

Chilled scallop canapés with smoked paprika, seaweed-butter and lime

These sound fancy but they were quite easy to put together and can be made in advance, so they’re easy to serve if you’re having a party. Get about one scallop per guest (or two if you want to make it a more substantial dish than just a canapé). I love scallops. My dad was a scallop diver so they’ve never been far away from … Continue reading Chilled scallop canapés with smoked paprika, seaweed-butter and lime

Fusion Food: Seaweed Butter for Martini Canapés

I recently enjoyed a discovery taster menu at the beautiful Michelin-starred Greenhouse restaurant in London’s Mayfair area. I didn’t have any martinis as I didn’t want to spoil my palette before the dining extravaganza but the setting was beautiful, the food utterly inspiring and the service convivial and professional; in-depth but relaxed. What a treat! It certainly set my martini-obsessed brain into overload thinking of … Continue reading Fusion Food: Seaweed Butter for Martini Canapés