Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Pan-Roasted Sea Salt with Rosemary & Dried Mushrooms

There are times that I just crave SALT! And this time, I really wanted to experiment with flavoring the salt. And thought that adding fresh rosemary, lemon zest and dried mushrooms would make it interesting. And it did, making it smoky and adding a depth to the salt. Here is a list of what you need...

  • 3/4 cup Mediterranean sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • zest of one lemon
  • fresh ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried mushrooms, I used what I had on hand, (champignon)
  • 1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
  • 5 cloves
  • a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes, or more depending how much you like

 I was super excited getting the ingredients and then I realized, I don't have a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder. So almost in a barbarian style, I started crushing the salt with a wooden spoon, I really went at it!  I imagined being in Tuscany, sun beating down on me as I crushed my salt by hand, but my fantasy got interrupted as salt spilled to the floor, ruining my daydream. To your salt, you want to add your chopped rosemary, fresh ground pepper, the lemon zest, the crushed red pepper flakes and crush and mix away, (great for getting frustrations out.) I imagine using a spice grinder would work better though, lol. (Our kitchen is really small, so I just have the bare essentials) Give your coriander seeds and cloves a good wack, not to totally crush them, just to open them up, to release their flavors, add to your salt with the mushrooms. Pour your salt in a pan and on high heat, stir your salt and the smell of the rosemary and cloves will be amazing! I kept it on the heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, and when cool, remove your mushrooms and cloves. Chop the dried mushrooms fine, or use a spice grinder and add back to your salt. Taste it and see how you like it, adding accordingly. I ended up adding some more fresh rosemary. Enjoy!


Still crushing...


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