Sea Celery & Tofu Noodle Soup

This weekend we braved a particularly windy and cold winters day to explore around the headlands of Wellington harbour. The waves were immense and full of large swathes of kelp and gulls were cawing above around the lighthouse. There were many goats spread over the cliffsides foraging their own lunch of gorse flowers and mallow.

We walked for three hours before stumbling upon what I’d seen last year and hoped to collect this year; sea celery!! It was growing in bushy clumps out of the pebbly sand on the shoreline and had that distinct celery/parsley smell when we were harvesting.

Unfortunately this area (Pencarrow Lighthouse) is used as a sewer outfall and so it isn’t safe to harvest seaweed or other seafood, it was terrible seeing the foul smelling brown water being pumped straight into the ocean, discolouring it and making it uninhabited and polluted. I collected the sea celery as it was growing above the high tide mark and appeared to be watered by rain. Do exercise caution though if you are foraging in this area.

This tofu noodle soup is incredibly comforting and sea celery is a perfect replacement for regular celery in this recipe. It has a subtle ocean/salty taste which pairs beautifully with lemon juice and “chicken” broth. Enjoy my fellow foragers!

Sea Celery & Tofu Noodle Soup

Ingredients: Serves 6

Tofu:

1 block firm tofu, cubed

2 teaspoons celery salt

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Olive oil, for frying

Soup:

1 packet pasta, cooked

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large onions, diced

2 cups sea celery, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

6 large garlic cloves, minced

8 cups vegan “chicken” stock (Massels)

1 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon celery salt

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 large lemons, juiced

2 teaspoons cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large pan over a medium high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Place tofu cubes in the pan and sprinkle over the celery salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, parsley, cumin, and nutritional yeast. Fry on either side until golden and slightly crispy. Set aside.
2. In a large soup pot over a medium heat add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions, sea celery, and carrots. Cook for 10 minutes before adding the garlic and sauté for a further 2 minutes.
3. Pour in the “chicken” stock and add the paprika, nutritional yeast, celery salt, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes or until carrots have softened.
4. Cook the pasta. Drain and set aside.
5. Stir in lemon juice, black pepper, and parsley to the soup.
6. Serve soup poured over the pasta and top with crispy tofu and extra chopped parsley or sea celery.

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