A homemade spiced sea salt blend infused with the flavor of the Mediterranean — perfect as a rub or pack in a jar for your favorite food-lover.
This flavorful sea salt blend can be used to notch up the flavor of so many things — use it as a rub for all kinds of meat, poultry or seafood.
The fresh Mediterranean flavors in the blend are also fantastic on roasted vegetables (potatoes!). And it makes an out-of-this-world popcorn seasoning — toss it to taste with some fresh parmesan cheese and olive oil.
Herbal-infused salts are one of the simplest ways to add some zest (literally) to basic recipes, and they’re easily mixed together with ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen.
As soon as you make the blend the mixture will become moist from the oils in the lemon and rosemary. But eventually the salt dries them out, essentially preserving and intensifying their flavor and infusing the salt at the same time.
rosemary lemon sea salt blend
Prep
Total
Yield 3/4 cup
For a tasty spice rub, use about 1 tablespoon per pound of meat, poultry or fish.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coarse sea salt or kosher salt (Diamond is my recommended brand)
- 1 tablespoon turbinado raw sugar
- 1 tablespoon crumbed red chile flakes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Mix the salt, sugar, chili flakes and rosemary in a bowl.
- Grind the peppercorns, fennel and coriander seeds in a small spice grinder. Stir into the bowl.
- Peel the lemon thinly with a vegetable peeler, avoiding the white pith as much as possible. Slice the peel into thin matchsticks, then slice crosswise to make tiny squares.
- Stir the lemon into the salt mixture. Let the mixture dry for a day or two before packing into a small jar.
Courses spice blend/pantry
Cuisine mediterranean
Hi there! I’m Karen, a mother of two and a professionally trained cook certified in holistic nutrition.
As the recipe developer, photographer and publisher of Familystyle Food, I share recipes and tips for making easy seasonal meals that are healthy and flavorful. Learn more about me here.
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Anonymous says
You’re back! 🙂 Glad to see a new post. Thanks for the salt blend idea(s). Wish we had a Penzey’s around here. Everyone raves about their spices so.
Anna says
Hey, I am salt geek too! I don’t know if I told you this, but Amanda Hesser did a series of chocolate chip cookie recipes calling for what seemed to me like excessive amounts of Kosher salt. People kept complaining about the cookies. I made the cookies, skeptical about the salt content, and discovered they were indeed WAY too salty. Turns out NYT was using Diamond Kosher which is about 1/3 less salty than Morton kosher. I wrote emailed Amanda, she and her test kitchen revisited the situation and the NYT test kitchen re-tested their recipes with Morton to find that the cookies were horribly salt. They now plan on taking the saltiness of salt into consideration.
Karen says
Wow, Anna. That is a salty surprise. And good for you for getting the NYT to rethink, and perfect, their testing of salt in their recipes. I just love that there are people like you that provoke these kinds of conversations!
Kalyn says
This sounds like a great recipe. I made some Rosemary Salt for Christmas presents this year too. I’m saving your recipe right now.
And Penzeys rocks.
Alanna says
I’m lucky to attest to how great the Tuscan Spice Mix is: so far I’ve just been using it on vegetables and eggs. Must now try it with the pork! Nice to have you back!
Nupur says
I have had the same troubles with Kosher salt…I normally use Diamond Kosher and upon moving to St. Louis, could not find it and settled for Morton Kosher. Ever since that day, I have been struggling to make food that is not over-salty 🙁 I think I am adjusting to it now. Thanks for writing about Penzey’s…I *have* to go and take a look!
Kristen says
I love Penzyes… I could waste away an entire afternoon in that store!
You have a lovely blog. Thanks for visiting mine because now I know of yours 🙂
Nicole says
I love making different seasoned salts, too! This one sounds great! I have never been to Penzeys but I order my spices online from The Spice House (same family). Using really fresh spices makes such a big difference!
SteamyKitchen says
I too have an obsession with salt.
I want this:
http://www.saltworks.us/shop/product.asp?idProduct=464
Karen says
Nicole, I like the Spice House too. They have some blends and things that Penzey’s doesn’t carry.
Steamy Kitchen, the bamboo salt collection looks beautiful! I’m inspired to make one myself 🙂
K says
Using fresh rosemary, how long does it keep? Will using dried make a big difference in taste?