One of my not-so-guilty pleasures is roaming around fancy gourmet shops. I’ve done quite a bit of car-tripping in the eastern part of the US, and each new little town has some version of these shops in the walkable, touristy areas. I love them, love all the stiff, colorful aprons, the artisan spreaders and spoons and spatulas, and the imported chocolate bars in their colorful wrappers.
Something that often shows up in those shops is fancy finishing salts. Often, these salts will be filled with truffles, citrus, dried herbs, or even charcoal. Packaged in small glass jars, these salts can be used to flavor fish, meats, focaccia, vegetables, even some desserts. They may be pricey, but you can make your own with just 10 minutes of prep time and much less cost.
Choosing Herbs for Fresh Homemade Herbed Salt
The best fresh herbs to use for herbed salt are the ones you can get your hands on. The most common kitchen herbs like basil, sage, thyme, and rosemary are the ones I’m using in this recipe, but you can easily use savory, tarragon, marjoram, lovage, etc. as you prefer.
The two main things are that they’re accessible to you and that you like the flavors.
Making your Fresh Homemade Herbed Salt Shelf Stable
Salt is the original preservative, keeping food fresh in a variety of ways for centuries. It will work in your favor with this fresh homemade herbed salt recipe, too, as long as you allow the mixture to completely dry out before you store it. You can do this either by letting it air dry overnight or by using a 150-degree oven for an hour or two, being careful not to let anything burn or come near to it.
How to Use your Herbed Salt
Think about this as a finishing salt, meaning you want to use it judiciously so you taste the flavor of the herbs as well as the salt. This herb blend is your tried and true, your gal Friday of salts. Here are a few ideas for using your fresh homemade herbed salt:
- to finish a seared, buttery steak
- on top of your morning scrambled or fried eggs
- mixed with butter on a toasted baguette
- sprinkled on roasted salmon also dressed with lemon
- tossed into a fresh salad with radishes, arugula, and a citrus viniagrette
- with roasted root vegetables
Truly, it can be used with any meat or vegetable as long as you love it. With a cute tag, this would make a darling holiday gift as well.
Fresh Homemade Herbed Salt
Ingredients
- 1 cup loosely packed herbs (rosemary leaves, basil, thyme, and sage)
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
Instructions
- The ratio for this recipe is 1/2 cup of kosher salt to 1 cup of herbs. All but the rosemary can include the stems. For rosemary, strip the leaves off the stems and use only the leaves.
- In a food processor, add the herbs and salt. Pulse the mixture until it is a thoroughly combined and the herbs are broken down.
- Spread the mixture on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment.
- Let the mixture air dry at least overnight undisturbed in a cool, dry location. Alternately, you could place the sheet in a 150-degree (or very low) oven for 1-2 hours, checking and stirring frequently so as to avoid any singeing or burning of the herbs.
- Store the completely dried herbed salt in a glass container for up to 6 months unrefridgerated.
Leave a Reply