makes three quarters of a cup
I get so spoiled in the summer with our herb garden just steps from my kitchen. I always go through fresh-herb withdrawal after the first hard frost each year. This herb salt is my very favorite way to preserve an excess of herbs from the garden. It might not be quite as good as a bunch of parsley or basil picked fresh from the plant, but it’s pretty darn close.
3 cups loosely packed fresh herbs (see notes)
½ cup coarse sea salt
Wash the herbs and remove coarse stems and discolored leaves. Dry thoroughly.
In a food processor, combine the herbs and salt and pulse until you have a coarse, uniform mixture. (Avoid overprocessing or you will end up with a paste.)
Place the herb mixture in a glass jar and refrigerate for 7 to 14 days to allow the flavors to meld, giving the jar a shake every day or so. The salt in this recipe acts as a preservative, so your herbs should last 6 months or even longer. (I recently found a 2-year-old jar hiding in my fridge—it’s still good.)
kitchen notes • Try parsley, dill, mint, oregano, marjoram, sage, thyme, cilantro, rosemary, or basil in this recipe. You can also mix and match for a variety of combinations. Sage and thyme is my current favorite combo.
Don’t have a food processor? No worries. Just use your knife and chop like crazy until the herbs and salt form a uniform mixture.
Use this herb salt in any recipe benefitting from an extra punch. Rub it on roasts, steaks, or chops. Sprinkle it in stews, add pinches to your homemade stock, slather it on your chickens before roasting them (see here). Shall I go on? It’s basically good for everything.