We’ve been highlighting our stupendous garden. It never stops. For now, though, take a break from the farm for a special walk down to the beach and into the sea.
Yes, wade into the water with us in your mind’s eye as you read along, to experience the gathering of what transforms from a couple of buckets into an extraordinary and exquisite dish. (Just to demonstrate that we’re not into hyperbole here: exquisite, as defined by Merriam-Webster – “marked by flawless craftsmanship or by beautiful, ingenious, delicate, or elaborate execution….”)
We’re in prime time for what the sea provides us, especially on our own shores.
The history-rich, reef-net salmon fishery on Legoe Bay is gearing up and will start hauling in salmon soon (late July). We’ve been feasting on shellfish – geoduck (funny that it’s pronounced “gooey-duck,” isn’t it?) – oyster, clam, spot prawn, crab.
Crab. That brings us to this special little walk we’re taking you on today. It centers on a recipe that has folks raving.
Our menu bursts with favorites that have become classic talking points among diners. The smoked salmon on a plank. The kale chips with rye breadcrumbs. Etc. Here’s the latest example.
A chef, each morning around 10, rolls up his pant legs and wades into the water. He collects a large bucket of seawater. From the same beach, we harvest seaweed.
Back, now, to the kitchen, the chef staff boils the seawater. In go the Dungeness crabs. When cooked, the crab meat is cleaned from the shells, and the shells get roasted – covered with the water to make a stock.
A chef then braises the hand-cut seaweed. (The rules and regulations for harvesting seaweed are strict. Knife or similar sharp-edged instrument only; tined tools, such as rakes or forks, prohibited. No herring eggs in the plant. Weight scale required. Wet weight measurement only – no drying or partial drying – for a 10-pound limit in one container, separate, not combined with any other harvester’s crop.)
At the table, what might have appeared to the average passerby as a bucket of dirty water and some soaking-wet, dark and stringy weeds, becomes an elegant presentation of Dungeness crab meat artfully topped with braised seaweed.
In describing the dish, a local resident, whose visiting parents from Texas joined him for our dinner, stretched the word “fabulous!” into a six-syllable exclamation. A staff member reported that a group of young diners couldn’t stop talking about this rarified serving.
As one of our esteemed chef staff put it, “It is very simple, but people are loving it.”