Fresh Garden Herb Salt

A fresh herb salt can be a great way to use up herbs when the garden's overflowing, and a learning experience that'll give you a deeper understanding of different herbs you grow, and how their flavors can be combined with others. Inspired my an Italian mix of herbs called borraccino said to smell like the forest after a rainfall, today I'll walk you through a few versions you can make at home.

For most of my career I've looked down on herb salts, as all I knew where expensive jars in boutique kitchen stores of dried herbs mixed with dried salt. But, just like ramp salt, processing the herbs with the salt when fresh gives a very different product, the end result becoming a snapshot of your garden at a certain place in time.

How to Make it

First, pick the herbs and remove any woody stems. It's good to do this with an extra set of hands to cut down on prep time. Next, mound the leaves up on a board and roughly chop them. Rosemary, lavender, lemongrass, or fresh bay leaves should chopped individually to ensure the pieces are very small.

Put the herbs in a food processor with the salt and process until the mixture's an even consistency. Be careful to puree the mixture just enough to get a smooth, uniform mixture. Overprocessing will heat it and change the flavor. Immediately transfer the salt to a mason jar with a lid.

Refrigerate the salt to keep the flavor bright and fresh, or store in the freezer.

Chef's Tips

Each combination will be a little different, and this is a great excuse to get to know the herbs you grow on a more intimate level.

The goal is to make a salt where each of the individual herbs blends into the background so that you can't pick out a singular aroma. To that end, the proportions in the basic recipe are flexible, but there's a few rules I've come up with for myself to ensure each blend is balanced.

• Sage and rosemary I limit to ½ cup (½ oz) per 1 cup (8 oz) of Morton kosher salt. Any more and their flavor will dominate.
• I avoid all mint, from spearmint to pennyroyal, as well as licorice flavors like tarragon as they tend to take over.
• A huge blend of herbs is wonderful, but finding unique, complimentary combinations can be just as good. A blend of lovage, basil and lemon thyme will make your toes curl.
• Aromatic flowers like signet marigold, and bee balm are fun to add if you have some.

Herb Combinations I Love

I've made many combinations over the years. Here's a few examples. Note that each combination uses the same proportions of 4 oz herbs to 8 oz salt.

Electric Green Herb Salt

• 2 oz lovage
• 1 oz basil
• 1 oz lemon thyme (or half lemon verbena or lemon balm)
• 1 lemon leaf
• ½ oz green coriander seed (optional but so good, I often freeze it until I need)

Italian Herb Salt

• ½ oz chopped rosemary or lavender leaves
• ½ oz fresh sage leaves
• 1 oz fresh oregano or marjoram
• 2 oz fresh parsley
• ½ oz fresh thyme
• 1 small hot chili pepper, fresh
• 1 large fresh bay leaf (optional)

100% Wild Herb Salt

Fresh ground sweetfern nutlets can be substituted for the juniper, spicebush leaves and berries, too.

• 2 oz fresh bee balm leaves
• 1 oz chopped wild onion leaves
• 1 oz parsley-like leaves, like wild chervil
• ¼ oz yarrow leaves (costmary is good too)
• 1 tablespoon well-crushed wild juniper berries or cedar cones, preferably unripe and green
• 1 frozen ramp bulb

How to Use Herb Salt

Every other recipe I've looked at for comparison seems to make the same common mistake: they instruct you to dehydrate or dry the salt before using. While drying the salt won't ruin it, and it will eventually dry out after months in the fridge, you're missing out on one of the most exciting parts.

When it's freshly made, the salt will be slightly juicy. It may seem difficult to use as it can't be sprinkled, but the juiciness is part of the magic as the herbs still have a fresh flavor.

When it's still damp and fresh, think of the finished product more like a rub of salted herbs than "herb salt". Instead of sprinkling it on meat, you'll rub the meat with it, ideally letting it sit overnight before cooking, or vacuum sealing it for the strongest flavor.

Other than that, you can use the salt anywhere you'd use regular salt. Here's a few ideas:

• Rub a piece of fish with it right before cooking.
• One of the best ways to use it is on roast chicken or grilled meats, ideally seasoned the night before.
• Fresh salts made with softer herbs like basil, lovage or oregano are great used to season a fresh salad of cut tomatoes and sweet corn.
• If you made a lot of salt, you can use it to make an herb brine for pork or poultry.
• Toss it with vegetables like carrots and parsnips, eggplant, peppers or potatoes before roasting. Start with ½ tablespoon salt per pound of vegetables.

Adjusting Salt Ratios in Cooking

One thing that can get tricky is when you're attempting to use the salt in regular recipes. With most savory dishes it's not an issue and you can simply use a bit more than you normally would, adding it to taste. For recipes where the salt is weighed, if it hasn't been dried, you can use 30% more than the recipe calls for. Typically I just add it to taste.

Related Posts

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• Italian Salmoriglio Sauce
• Lovage Sauce