Salt makes it all good doesn’t it? As much as I love my sugar, I cannot imagine food without salt. Salt cannot be had on its own but as soon as you add it to something, magical transformation happens. It is as though the dish suddenly comes alive! And what if that salt is flavoured ?
Yes you heard it right, flavoured salt is quite an interesting ingredient in the pantry. Whenever I have lots of left over fresh herbs, I always convert them into salts. That way they are not wasted. Whenever you buy herbs from the market, they always come in a bunch. One just requires a very small quantity at home unless you have a professional kitchen. So what do you do with them if you have lots left over? Here is a very simple yet flavourful way to save the herbs for future use. Create salts with them. Here you go with a recipe for basil salt.
Ingredients
- Basil – 1 cup
- Salt – 1/2 cup
Method
- Wash and dry the basil thoroughly.
- Pluck the leaves only. In a mixer, pulse together the basil and salt till it resembles green salt like. At this point do not over grind as it can turn into a wet pulp.
- Preheat an oven to 100 ° C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or silicon mat. Spread the above mixture in a thin layer. Bake for 15-20 min at 100 ° C till the mixture becomes dry.
- Allow to cool. You can grind the dried mixture again to turn it into a green salt.
This basil salt is great to sprinkle over an omelette or any dish for that matter. It can act as a good rub for meats. The meat will be moist and beautifully seasoned throughout and will be full of flavour. Also, the salt will make the meat juicier and tender. It will result in crispier skin. So many advantages and hardly any effort to make these herb salts!
Like they say salt has a unique characteristic, its presence is not felt but its absence most certainly makes all things tasteless. The basil salt will most certainly make its presence pronounced ! Go ahead and stock your pantry with it.
