Asparagus of the Sea
It’s not really from the sea and it’s no relation to asparagus, but sea asparagus is a popular ingredient for creative chefs on Canada’s coasts.
In Acadian fishing communities in New Brunswick, occasional signs offer “Samphire for Sale” along rural roads. “Pickleweed” or “Crow’s Feet” are other names for the segmented greens — the latter, a nod to the skinny succulent’s branching tips.
But here on the West Coast, it’s known as sea beans or sea asparagus. Salicornia spp. is a bushy little plant that is foraged from the high tide line and in salty marshes along B.C.’s oceanside shores.
It’s a wild green with a fresh, briny flavour that’s a natural with seafood and fits well on any hyper-local plate. Sea asparagus also takes well to pickling and often turns up as a garnish in your West Coast Caesar cocktail or just perched atop a piece of grilled salmon for a hit of crisp texture and salty acidity.
In The Deerholme Foraging Book, chef Bill Jones’ book about wild foods of the Pacific Northwest, he explains that sea beans are not technically sea vegetables, like B.C.’s wide selection of seaweeds, but their intertidal habitat gives them a similar flavour profile.
Jones recommends foraging salicornia in summer “when the stems are plump and tender," then soaking them to remove some of the salt before serving. Cut off the tough ends, blanch quickly and shock in ice water to set the bright green colour, then chop sea asparagus to serve in salads, use it as a salty herb with oysters, sauté it in butter to serve as a vegetable, or pickle it. Blanched, it keeps for up to 10 days in the refrigerator or it can be frozen.
Jones makes a quick pickle of sea beans, steeping the stems in a hot brine of white wine vinegar, pickling spice and sugar to serve alongside seared Albacore tuna.
Bluewater Café chef Frank Pabst adds sea asparagus to his linguine with local Littleneck clams, which also features classic ingredients such as garlic, white wine and pancetta.
Chef Ned Bell makes a crunchy sea asparagus salsa verde, the samphire combined with chopped dulse, parsley and chives, to serve alongside creamy sea urchin custard.
Sea asparagus takes well to Asian flavours, too. Toss it with sesame oil and a bit of sweet chili sauce, or a dressing of miso and yuzu. You might add sea asparagus to a stirfry with prawns or roll into maki sushi for some salty crunch.
Even if you can’t get out to the shore to forage for sea asparagus, look for it at your local fish counter. Then just soak and blanch it for a tasty, West Coast treat.
