How do you eat kelp? Here are two recipes

Industry leaders describe the brown leafy vegetable as salty, sweet, firm and gluten-free, although it can take on different textures depending on preparation techniques. In April, kelp grown by Bren Smith in Connecticut’s Long Island Sound waters was served at a White House dinner — a first, he said, for domestically cultivated kelp. 

Here are a couple of ways to bring it to your own table.

Simple Kelp Salad
From Bren Smith’s kitchen

• Pull the sugar kelp leaves from their stems

• Blanch the leaves 15 seconds and cool

• Add vegetables of choice

• Lightly dress with an oil-based dressing

• Toss and serve

Kelp Butter
From chef David Santos of Louro,
New York City

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 cup diced onion

• 10 thinly sliced garlic cloves

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 cups chopped sugar kelp

• 1 pound high-quality butter, room temperature

Mix and spread.