Seaweed and olives might sound like an odd pairing, but dulse tapenade will convince you otherwise. It’s a salty spread with rich umami flavor that can be modified to please your palate. Love the flavor of seaweed? Then go light on the olives. Not so fond of seaweed? Add a big handful of Kalamatas and you’ll barely taste the seaweed at all.

Either way, dulse tapenade is packed with vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, iodine, magnesium, iron and copper. Not to mention all the other trace minerals your body is probably missing out on.

Olives are no slouches in the nutrient department, but sea vegetables are especially micronutrient-dense. Although seaweed is a staple in some cultures, it’s lacking in many others. If you’re not eating much seaweed, then dulse tapenade is a delicious way to work sea vegetables into your diet. It’s a super-healthy, super-flavorful and surprisingly versatile spread.

Still not convinced that sea vegetables and olives go together? Consider this: In a traditional tapenade recipe, anchovies are added, giving tapenade the same salty, umami flavor that seaweed brings. So why not use seaweed instead? Plus, the salty flavor of Kalamata olives isn’t too far off from the salty and fairly mild flavor of dulse.

In this recipe, the tapenade is used as a topping for garlic grilled steak. Dulse tapenade is also really delicious as a spread for Primal crackers or a sauce for Primal pizza and meatza. Use it as a filling for an Italian Turkey Loaf Burger. Or, just eat dulse tapenade with a spoon.

Servings: 4

Time in the Kitchen: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 very finely chopped garlic cloves, divided
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided (45 ml)
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak (680 to 900 g)
• One 1.4 ounce package dried whole leaf dulse (40 g)
• 1/2 to 1 cup pitted kalamata olives (about 140 g)

Instructions:

Combine 3 of the garlic cloves with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Rub the garlic and olive oil all over the steak. Generously season the steak with salt and pepper. Set the steak aside for 20 minutes or so, letting the meat come up to room temperature.

Heat the grill to med-high. Cook the steak about 6 minutes per side with the lid down for medium-rare. Let rest 10 minutes. While the steak rests, make the tapenade.

Soak the dulse in water for 3 minutes until soft. Drain and then quickly rinse the dulse in fresh water. Squeeze out as much excess water as possible.

Warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Saute the remaining garlic and the dulse for 2 to 3 minutes.

Scrape into a food processor and add 1/2 of the olives.

Pulse a few times, scraping down sides as necessary, to blend. Taste the tapenade. If the seaweed flavor is too strong for you, add the remaining olives until pulse until desired texture is reached.

Thinly slice the flank steak. Serve with a topping of dulse tapenade.

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