If you walk down the spice aisle at your local grocery store, you’ll see an endless row of spice blends for every possible use. There’s a blend for hamburgers, steaks, or chicken; blends with salt and without salt; blends for salads; blends for southwest cooking; and on and on and on…I’m sure I have 7 or 8 versions in my pantry. If you review the ingredient list for each blend, there’s usually a good bit of repetition. Most of the blends contain salt, pepper, garlic, and onion.
A while back, Sally Schneider was a guest on The Splendid Table, NPR’s culinary, culture, and lifestyle program. She made a seasoned salt mixture which contained fresh herbs. I loved the concept of making my own spice blend and I decided to make a batch.
You can make this seasoned salt blend with any herbs that you like. As I thought about the herbs that I use most regularly, I opted for making my blend with rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley. Garlic and lemon zest rounded out the blend. Great with almost everything, this wonderful spice blend enhances the flavor of steaks, hamburgers, chicken, pork, vegetables, and eggs.
This blend takes minutes to make and only a couple of days to dry. Give it a try and kick up the flavor on all your dishes.
Ingredients
5 cloves garlic,
1 cup kosher salt
zest of 2 lemons
2 cups mixed herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, and parsley)
Instructions
1. Transfer garlic and 1/2 cup of the salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until garlic is finely chopped.
2. Add herbs and lemon zest and process until the consistency of coarse sand.
3. Combine blended herbs with remaining 1/2 cup of salt and spread on a baking sheet. Leave baking sheet uncovered on the counter top and dry for 2 days. Store in an airtight container and use as needed.
https://southernboydishes.com/2014/04/08/salt-with-garlic-and-herbs/
- Roasted Cauliflower and Fennel Soup - November 8, 2015
- Smoky and Sweet Turkey Chili{+ a Cookbook Giveaway} - October 27, 2015
- Black-Eyed Pea and Collard Stew with Turkey Sausage - October 16, 2015
I have been making the Splendid Table’s Tuscan blend for years but I love chopping all the herbs by hand….. it’s very therapeutic
What an awesome salt blend!! Blends like this making cooking so easy and these ingredients are ones that I casually throw into a variety of dishes. I need to make this. Thanks Bill for sharing this!
I love it! Thanks so much for sharing this simple but fundamental tip!
Great post! So simple and so good — I’m so going to be trying this! Thanks.
Oh yeah! So going to make this! Beautiful idea and glorious pictures (like usual :).
Kathi
What a fabulous idea for a fresh homemade seasoning salt to have on hand! This would be great for grilling, and even for gifts. Love it, Bill!
Thank you, Georgia!
Tried the Brunswick stew recipe last night, wow! It was the best we have ever tasted. We like that the tremendous flavor comes primarily from the combination of ingredients and not a lot of spices or salt. Note to self: SB recipes take the best of food from the South and make it healthier.
Wow! Thanks for the compliments, John. I really appreciate the feedback!
So simple and so delicious. Your photographs are really lovely too.
How can something so simple be so amazing!