Secret Recipe: First Night at the Ocean Pasta

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Happy Wondercrew Wednesday! Today I am sharing a recipe that is very dear to my soul: it's what I used to make for myself every time I went to visit my beloved Pacific Ocean. Now that I can no longer eat at all due to my medical condition, I have found other ways to immerse myself in the magic of the coast... but I do miss this particular little ritual and the amazing meal it produced. I hope you will enjoy it on my behalf.

There’s a little beach on the Oregon coast that I love to visit and explore. It’s known for the agates that wash up sometimes, especially after big storms. There, you’ll often run into eager beachcombers carrying buckets, hoping to find that one big gem that must be out there somewhere. That’s why eyes tend to pop when they see me carrying my own bucket, one that is clearly much heavier than theirs. Often they’ll come up excitedly to inspect my treasure, the way kids will curiously peer into each other’s baskets during an Easter Egg hunt. I love watching their faces turn from curiosity to confusion when they realize that my bucket isn’t full of gems at all, but of mussels. 

“You can eat those?” they ask, as if they hadn’t just paid $25 a plate for mussels over pasta at that fancy beachside restaurant the night before. I giggle internally as I explain that yes, these are the very same shellfish found in seafood restaurants and grocery stores! I always make sure to educate them about safety (“you just have to call the shellfish safety line before you gather any”) and sustainability (“there are daily limits and you need a permit, but the limits are generous and the permits are very affordable!”) Then, they usually shake their heads in bafflement and return to looking for the translucent stones that called them there. I, too, return to my task of cutting mussels from their rocks, not understanding how others can’t see the treasure of harvesting fresh seafood for pennies! (In Oregon, an annual shellfish permit is less than $10. For out-of-state residents, a weekend permit still costs much less than a plate of mussels at any restaurant.) 

I have my own delightful little ritual when I make trips to the coast. Before I embark, I make sure I have a camping tea kettle and thrift store pot in my car, plus a bucket and cooler. I always have my backpack along, stocked with things like rubber gloves, a pocket knife, lighter, extra granola bars, and recycled grocery bags to put foraged finds in when I’m out hiking. Somewhere along the way, I pick up a lemon, a bottle of white wine, and some bread and butter. Maybe a brownie or ingredients for s’mores. Then, I stop for a hike and keep my eyes peeled for the plentiful treats that coastal forests hold. I might gather a handful of fiddlehead ferns, maybe some nettles, a few wild rose petals, some fragrant yarrow. When I return to my campsite I stick my finds in a cooler, then head to the beach for low tide. I come back with a bucket of seawater and mussels. I start a fire, then pull some coals aside to cook over. I saute any flavorful herbs or wild onions I’ve found with a bit of butter. I add a splash of white wine, a few cups of sea water, and toss in my mussels. I stick on the lid and let them steam for a few minutes, until they’ve opened up. Then I give them a squeeze of lemon and enjoy my feast with plenty of bread to sop up the flavorful broth. Dessert often means elderflower tea and a floral rose paste on a brownie while I watch the sun set over the grand Pacific in a state of perfect peace, tears in my eyes. It feels incredible to be so connected to nature, and there’s nothing like eating wild things gathered with care and consideration mere minutes after you’ve gathered them. 

Since I’m usually camping when I get out to the coast, I keep my meal simple and cook over a fire. If I happen to be staying with a friend or somewhere that has a kitchen, it’s fun to take things one step further and create a creative and beautiful pasta dish with the briny flavors of the sea and lots of freshly foraged delights. I take things up a notch by making homemade buckwheat and kelp pasta - it comes together quickly and is so much better fresh! 

I call this dish “First Night At The Ocean” in honor of my eagerness to dive right into the coastal flavors I love so much! It is absolutely filled with flavor, from the brightness of lemons to the richness of white wine to the strong umami tones of kelp. This dish is also highly adaptable. If I have some dashboard-dried kelp from a couple of days earlier, I’ll grind it into powder to make the kelp noodles posted here. If not, I’ll add some chopped wild herbs to the dough instead, or just use store-bought pasta. Challenge yourself to work with what is around you, which will vary season-to-season. Sharp cress in winter. Fiddlehead ferns in spring. Wild fennel in late summer. You get the idea. 

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