Rockpool broth with limpet wontons
These little envelopes of deliciousness floating in a sea of dreams have the kind of soft sensuous texture one would imagine a limpet to have. Limpets are actually very tough and rubbery in reality, and unless you know how to prepare them properly, they can be a sad letdown after all your hard work foraging them off the rocks. Traditionally, they are minced up and used in a pie filling or stew mix, but I like to use them in a ceviche-style dish or in something special like this.
Rockpool broth with limpet wontons. Image credit: Filipa Domingues
Serves 6
To make the broth:
Ingredients
6 whole, peeled garlic cloves
1 knob of ginger, peeled and grated
½ cup of kelp, finely sliced
½ cup of mixed seaweed, finely sliced
2 bokkoms
2 cups of veldkool buds
¼ cup of finely diced oxalis leaves
½ a cup of finely diced ice plant
8 mussels
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Place all the ingredients in a big pot, fill with water and cook over the coals for 20 mins uncovered.
Shred the now-soft bokkoms, removing the bones and place lid on pot.
To make the wontons
• Gut, clean and finely dice 8 large limpets (remove stomach and head)
• In a bowl, mix the juice of one lemon, 1 tbs sesame oil, 1 tbs olive oil, and 1 tbs soya sauce. Add the limpets, ½ a cup of finely diced ice plant and a ¼ cup of finely diced oxalis leaves
• Fill and fold ½ a teaspoon of limpet mix into a wonton square and place on a dry surface
• With your broth simmering on a medium heat, carefully place wonton envelopes into the pot on the surface of the broth. Cover with lid and cook gently for 5-8 mins until the wonton pastry is cooked through
• Serve in bowls with the limpet shells as spoons and garnish with oxalis flowers and young wild greens.
Recipe: Roushanna Gray Image: Filipa Domingues
Also see Roushanna Gray’s adaptation of Jamie Olivers yoghurt flatbread recipe, incorporating the wild flavours of the West Coast into the mix.
Visit Veld and Sea for more on foraging and get a copy of the March 2019 issue of Getaway magazine to read about Roushanna Gray’s foraging experience in rockpools around the West Coast. Also find out about foraging dos and don’ts.
