🌊🌱 Have you ever cooked with seaweed? Edible seaweeds have been enjoyed in coastal cuisines around the world for generations, bringing unique flavours, textures and a wonderful taste of the sea to everyday dishes. From fresh salads to soups, stews and snacks, there are so many delicious ways to discover this versatile ingredient.
🇨🇱🌱 Cristóbal joined A Grandchild in My Kitchen, Grandma Sita’s cooking challenge where family recipes and food traditions from around the world are given a delicious plant-based twist. Together, we are cooking a fresh and colourful Chilean seaweed salad inspired by Pebre de Cochayuyo, bringing together juicy tomatoes, fresh coriander, onion, chilli and tender pieces of cochayuyo.
🥗🌶️ Pebre is a much-loved Chilean condiment, traditionally made with ingredients such as tomato, onion, coriander, chilli, oil and salt. It is often served alongside bread and other traditional Chilean dishes, making it a wonderful example of simple ingredients coming together to create something full of flavour.
🐚🌊 Cochayuyo is an edible seaweed traditionally enjoyed in Chile and is part of the country’s rich culinary heritage. Its distinctive texture and deep, savoury flavour make it a delicious ingredient for adding a little taste of the coast to this vibrant salad. Cochayuyo is also recognised as part of Chilean ancestral and contemporary cuisine.
💚 This recipe is not intended to be a traditional Pebre de Cochayuyo, but rather Grandma Sita’s plant-based interpretation, inspired by the flavours and ingredients of Chilean coastal cooking. It is fresh, colourful, full of texture and wonderfully easy to adapt with the ingredients you have at home.
🥖🌱 Serve it with crusty bread, tortillas, flatbreads or your favourite meal, and discover how a few humble ingredients can create something truly special. Ready to bring a little taste of Chile to your kitchen? Let’s make this fresh, vibrant and flavour-packed Chilean seaweed salad — the Grandma Sita way! 💚
INGREDIENTS
For the Pebre
1 bunch fresh coriander, leaves and tender stems
1 large red onion
4 small tomatoes
2 ají chillies
1 tbsp lemon juice or red wine vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt, to taste
Grandma Sita’s twist: For this recipe, we use Merkén powder instead of fresh ají chillies. Merkén is a traditional Chilean seasoning made with dried and smoked chilli, often combined with coriander and salt. It has a distinctive smoky, earthy flavour and adds a delicious depth to the Pebre.
For the Cochayuyo
½ cup dried Cochayuyo seaweed
2 cups boiling water
METHOD
For the Pebre
1. Prepare the onion. Finely chop the red onion and place it in a bowl of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again.
2. Prepare the coriander. Separate the coriander leaves and tender stems from the thicker stems. Discard the tougher stems and finely chop the rest.
3. Prepare the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into quarters and remove the seeds. Chop the remaining flesh into small cubes.
4. Prepare the chillies. If using fresh ají verde chillies, remove the seeds and finely chop them into small pieces.
For the Cochayuyo
1. Rehydrate the seaweed. Place the dried Cochayuyo pieces in a bowl and cover with 2 cups of boiling water. Leave to soak for about 30 minutes.
2. Drain and chop. Strain the rehydrated Cochayuyo and gently squeeze out any excess water. Chop into small cubes.
Bring the salad together 🥗
1. Combine the ingredients. Add the chopped onion, coriander, tomatoes, chilli and Cochayuyo to a large bowl.
2. Season. Add the lemon juice or red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir well and adjust the seasoning to taste. If using Merkén powder instead of fresh ají chillies, add it gradually until you reach your preferred level of smoky flavour and heat.
3. Serve and enjoy! Serve this fresh Chilean seaweed salad with crusty bread, tortillas, flatbreads, tacos or alongside your favourite meal.
👵💚 Grandma Sita’s tips
- 🥗 Make the Pebre your own. Pebre is a much-loved Chilean condiment traditionally served alongside bread and other dishes. This version adds Cochayuyo for a delicious taste of the coast, but you can experiment with other edible seaweeds available locally. Different seaweeds can bring their own flavours and textures to the dish.
- 🌊 Rehydrate the Cochayuyo properly. Dried Cochayuyo needs time to soften before you add it to the salad. Soak it in boiling water for about 30 minutes, then drain and gently squeeze out the excess water before chopping.
- 🔪 Cut everything into small, similar-sized pieces. Finely chopped onion, tomatoes, coriander and Cochayuyo help all the flavours come together in every bite.
- 🧅 Soak the onion if you prefer a milder flavour. Placing the chopped onion in boiling water for a few minutes takes away some of its sharpness while keeping its lovely crunch.
- 🌶️ Adjust the heat to your taste. Fresh ají chillies are traditionally used in Pebre, but this recipe uses Merkén instead. Add it little by little until you find the right balance of smoky flavour and heat for you.
- 🍋 Taste before serving. The balance between acidity, salt, oil and chilli is what makes this salad so delicious. Add a little more lemon juice or vinegar, olive oil, salt or Merkén until the flavours taste right to you.
- 🌿 Don’t waste the coriander stems. The tender stems are full of flavour and can be finely chopped and added to the Pebre. Simply remove the thicker, tougher stems.
- 🍅 Save those tomato scraps. If you remove the tomato seeds and softer centres, don’t throw them away automatically. Add them to a homemade sauce, soup, salsa or vegetable stock, as long as they are fresh and suitable to use.
- ❄️ Keep leftovers chilled. Store the prepared salad in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy it while it is fresh. Because it contains fresh vegetables and herbs, its texture and flavour are best when eaten soon after preparation.
- 🥖 Serve it with whatever you have. Crusty bread, tortillas, flatbreads and tacos are all delicious with this colourful salad. You can also spoon it over baked potatoes, rice or other simple meals for an extra burst of flavour.
📗 Did you know?
Seaweed has been part of human food traditions for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence from Monte Verde in southern Chile points to the use of algae by people living in the region around 14,000 years ago, showing just how far back the relationship between coastal resources and human food traditions can reach.
🇨🇱🐚 Cochayuyo is part of Chile’s rich food heritage. This edible seaweed has long been used in Chilean cooking, particularly in coastal and southern regions, and can be prepared in salads and a variety of traditional dishes.
🌿 And seaweed is incredibly versatile. Beyond food, seaweeds are also used around the world in products and industries including fertilisers, animal feed, cosmetics and food ingredients. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations describes seaweed as a versatile resource with a wide range of uses.
🗑️ A little food-waste fact
🥬🌿 Fresh herbs and vegetables often come with edible parts that we forget to use. Tender coriander stems can be chopped straight into this Pebre, while tomato trimmings can be saved for sauces, soups or stocks.
🌱 The same idea applies to the rest of the recipe. Instead of automatically throwing away vegetable scraps, have a look at what can be safely reused. A little planning can turn yesterday’s leftovers and kitchen trimmings into tomorrow’s delicious meal.
At Grandma Sita, we love recipes that encourage us to look twice before we throw something away. Sometimes the most useful ingredient is the one we almost forgot about!
♻️🌊 Give simple ingredients a second life
This Chilean seaweed salad is a wonderful reminder that delicious cooking can begin with simple ingredients and a little imagination. Fresh tomatoes, coriander, onion, chilli and Cochayuyo come together to create a colourful dish inspired by Chilean coastal flavours. So, whether you serve it with bread, tortillas, tacos or alongside your favourite meal, enjoy every fresh, smoky and delicious bite.
Explore new ingredients, waste less and make every meal count — the Grandma Sita way!