A recipe from by Ivan Tisdall-Downes, former co-founder of Native, around the Fix the Food Chain series, on until the end of the month.
The classic millionaire shortbread takes a sustainable, foraged twist by including the abundant sea lettuce. Seaweed has a myriad of health benefits and also acts as a natural form of MSG, helping to enhance the flavours of the other ingredients as well as add a subtle saltiness to the rich caramel. Seaweed foraging is the perfect pathway into foraging and is an extremely suitable source of food, helping to take the pressure off of the food chain.
SHORTBREAD:
150g of plain / gluten-free plain flour
150g of caster sugar
100g of butter, chilled and diced
1.5g of dried sea lettuce
1pinch of salt
CARAMEL:
175g of butter
175g of caster sugar
120g of golden syrup
397g of condensed milk, (1 tin)
1 Pinch of salt
TOPPING
250g of dark chocolate
15g of crushed sunflower seeds
3g of dried sea lettuce flakes
1 lemon to zest
1. Preheat an oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and grease a 20x20cm baking tin with a removable base
2. Place the ingredients for the shortbread into a food processor and blitz to a rubble
3. Pour this mixture into the greased tin and push down using your hands to create a compact, even base
4. Cook in the oven for 20–25 minutes. The shortbread may look very soft and bubbling, but this is fine – it will firm up once cooled.
5. Place the ingredients for the caramel into a pan and place over a low heat. Stir constantly for around 10 minutes or until the caramel has turned a nice dark golden colour and started to thicken.
6. Once the shortbread base has cooled, pour over the caramel and place in the fridge or a cold area such as a pantry or beside an open window.
7. Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave, then pour over the caramel once it has thickened a little (it doesn’t need to be fully cooled). Sprinkle over the sunflower seeds and sea lettuce flakes and then zest the lemon over the top. Place in the fridge to set.
8. Once the chocolate has completely cooled and solidified, you can carefully remove the shortbread from the tin and slice into small squares
