Herb salt
I had a bunch of fresh herbs available and little occasion to use them the coming weeks - what to do? Homemade herb salt, turned out to be the answer.
This salt can be made with anything and everything. Here's what I did:
3 lbs of kosher salt or other coarse, cheap salt (don't waste Maldon salt on this!)
Half pound of fresh herbs. I used a large bunch of rocket salad, a large bunch of flat-leaf parsley and handfuls of thyme, basil and rosemary, but use whatever you like and have available
1 red bell pepper
1 large onion
Chop the pepper and onion into chunks and throw in blender. Add a handful of salt. Run blender until smooth. Add a handful of herbs and a handful of salt, run until smooth. Keep doing this until you have a smooth, green mixture. Spread evenly on a baking tray covered with silpat (you could, in a pinch, use greaseproof paper but it will stick and be a pain to get off). Dry in oven on lowest setting, keep the oven door slightly ajar to let moisture out. Drying may take a fair bit of time, mine took almost two full days but we have had high levels of humidity where I live.
Break up the salt with a ladle if you like the salt to be coarse, or run it through the blender again if you prefer a finer-grained mixture (I do). Keep in a dry, dark spot.
Herb salt is fabulous on eggs, popcorn, in salad dressings, sprinkled over grilled vegetables or rubbed into meat, especially lamb or chicken. It is also healthy, because the flavour is so strong you tend to use less salt.
Now I'm wondering about doing an Asian blend with lemongrass, lime leaves, chili, chilantro and ginger...
This salt can be made with anything and everything. Here's what I did:
3 lbs of kosher salt or other coarse, cheap salt (don't waste Maldon salt on this!)
Half pound of fresh herbs. I used a large bunch of rocket salad, a large bunch of flat-leaf parsley and handfuls of thyme, basil and rosemary, but use whatever you like and have available
1 red bell pepper
1 large onion
Chop the pepper and onion into chunks and throw in blender. Add a handful of salt. Run blender until smooth. Add a handful of herbs and a handful of salt, run until smooth. Keep doing this until you have a smooth, green mixture. Spread evenly on a baking tray covered with silpat (you could, in a pinch, use greaseproof paper but it will stick and be a pain to get off). Dry in oven on lowest setting, keep the oven door slightly ajar to let moisture out. Drying may take a fair bit of time, mine took almost two full days but we have had high levels of humidity where I live.
Break up the salt with a ladle if you like the salt to be coarse, or run it through the blender again if you prefer a finer-grained mixture (I do). Keep in a dry, dark spot.
Herb salt is fabulous on eggs, popcorn, in salad dressings, sprinkled over grilled vegetables or rubbed into meat, especially lamb or chicken. It is also healthy, because the flavour is so strong you tend to use less salt.
Now I'm wondering about doing an Asian blend with lemongrass, lime leaves, chili, chilantro and ginger...