Vegan “Seafood” Pasta

For the kelp broth, in a saucepan, bring to a boil some water (500-700ml will do), salt and kombu. As soon as the water starts boiling turn the heat off and let it cool completely.

For the van “scallops,” in a food processor, blend the nori sheet into a powder.

Cut the stalks of the oyster mushrooms into 1 cm thick slices. Score each slice only on one side with 2 to 4 parallel cuts each way. Place the “scallops” a dish with sides deep enough to host the marinade, then and add soy sauce, 1/2 cup of kelp broth, lemon wedges, sea salt and ground nori. Marinate for at least 30 minutes (ideally overnight).

In a large pan, heat olive oil then add garlic (grated), finely chopped chili pepper and roughly chopped capers, and cook for 1–2 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and fresh cherry tomato halves. Season with salt and white pepper.

Boil the pasta in salted water for half of the cooking time indicated on the pack. Drain half-cooked pasta and transfer to the sauce pan—this will complete the cooking process for the last half. Using the same cooking technique as you would for a risotto, add the kelp broth a bit at a time, and wait until all the liquid has absorbed before adding some more.

Remove the mushrooms and the lemon wedges from the marinade. Squeeze the lemon juice into the marinade liquid and add it to the pasta pan. Pan fry the mushrooms in a bit of vegetable oil starting with the scored side.

Serve the pasta topped with fresh parsley, nori powder and vegan pan-fried scallops.