St. Louis Today, December 5, 2007 The Washington Times, December 19, 2007
Flavored salt makes easy gift
By Jenn Garbee TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Ancho chili salt (left) and orange citrus salt (right) will perk up a present.
When my mom calls to report on the pounds of dough she kneaded over the weekend to make her holiday sweet rolls, I know it's time to dust off my own beloved holiday recipe. Only I don't have one. No ultimate brownies, no airy forget-me-not cookies, no maple-laced pecan pies that friends anxiously await each year. Instead, I sift through piles of cookbooks until I happen upon that perfect holiday gift. This year, it's salt. Yes, my nearest and dearest are getting plain old sodium chloride. Not the pantry staple best suited for dashing over shoulders and sprinkling on not-quite-there-yet stews. I'm handing out dressedup sea salts scented with citrus peel, dried herbs and spices. And for my closest friends, even dried black truffles (sorry, but everyone else gets the more budget-friendly version made with porcini mushrooms). I can't take credit such a brilliantly simple gift idea. My fascination with flavored salts began after attending a cooking class in Las Vegas with Bellagio executive chef Wolfgang Von Wieser. While the rest of my friends were playing the slots, I was happily nibbling on petite bites of smoked salmon, cheese custards and sautéed shrimp that Von Wieser had sprinkled with his delicately scented house-made finishing salts. "Start with the base flavor, like tomato, before you experiment with other additions," said Von Wieser, passing out samples of his smoked paprika, tomato and squid-ink salts. "You want to balance the flavors so it's not too harsh." Back home, I vowed to make every one of Von Wieser's salts. Then I glanced at the recipes. His tomato salt involves pressing, drying and grinding fresh tomatoes. And that's before adding tomato paste and starting the cooking and drying process all over again. I needed quick and easy recipes for holiday gifts. I started with ground spices, adding 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika to 1 cup of coarse sea salt. It was tasty but not quite racy enough to transform a ho-hum baked potato into a conversation-worthy side dish. Two tablespoons did the trick. With the basic formula in hand, I graduated to dried chile peppers, porcini mushrooms, even those coveted dried black truffles I've been hording in the back of my pantry. Ground fine and mixed with sea salt, a little goes a long way. Now I've got a year's supply to sprinkle on omelets, potatoes and pastas ... and to share with friends. When it comes to the salt, the most basic bulk brand will do. Invest in bold, heady spices such as toasted ground cumin seeds, five spice powder and smoked paprika. They're strong enough to that the lightest sprinkle will lend flavor to a dish. Freshly dried and ground herbs like rosemary and sage are also a good choice. Avoid the more mild-mannered dried basil, oregano and bay leaves, which can be overwhelmed by
the salt. Experimenting is half the fun. And it's affordable. At only a few dollars per pound, even Von Weiser can let loose with his salt whims. "Clove, now I thought it would be good, but it didn't work so well. But bacon, that turned out very, very good," he said, sprinkling the pork-infused salt on creamed potatoes. The bacon salt is fantastic, the hands-down favorite in our cooking class. Tiny bits of concentrated smoky flavor infuse the salt. I'm dreaming of all the salads, soups, meats, shellfish, and vegetables — everything, actually — that I can sprinkle it on at home. And it's mostly salt, right? So that means it will fit within all those New Year's diet resolutions, the perfect pork-based diet food. My friends are going to love it. There's always a catch. Ingredients with a high-fat content like bacon require a dehydrator to remove all of their moisture. Dehydrating prevents spoilage and promises a shelf life of several months. Oven-drying just won't cut it with bacon. But whole dried chiles couldn't be easier. Grind them in a blender or spice mill, removing any large pieces, and use the same formula — 2 tablespoons to 1 cup of sea salt. This year, my Texas friends are getting chile-laced holiday baskets with ancho, Hatch, pasilla and smoked serrano salts to spice up soups, side dishes and grilled meats. Maybe I'll throw in a jar of bittersweet chocolate sauce. A bowl of vanilla ice cream with homemade chocolate sauce is hard to beat; sprinkled with the tiniest bit of ancho chile salt, its worthy of breaking that New Year's resolution. If your friends aren't keen on eye-opening Bloody Marys rimmed in chile salt, send them a box of orange, tangerine, lime and lemon salts to sprinkle on fish, chicken and vegetables. To make citrus-scented salts, slice the peel from the fruit; remove as much of the bitter white pith as possible, and cut the peel into 1-inch pieces. Scatter the peel on a baking sheet and place in a hot oven, immediately turning off the heat. Let the peel sit until dried (it may not be crispy, just dry enough to grind). Grind the peel to a fine powder, add the sea salt, and in a single afternoon you've got enough citrus salt for all of the seafood lovers on your list, not to mention the vegetarians, meat fanatics and pastry fiends. All that's left to do is pour the beautiful gem-colored salts into small glass jars, tuck them into a basket, and include a handful of recipe cards and serving suggestions for inspiration. JENN GARBEE IS A LOS ANGELES-BASED FOOD AND TRAVEL WRITER. --Basic Flavored Salt Yield: 1 cup Whole spices or dried chiles or 2 tablespoons ground dried herbs or spices 1 cup coarse sea salt If using whole spices or dried chiles, grind to a fine powder in a blender or spice mill. Remove any large pieces. Add 2 tablespoons ground spices, chiles or herbs to salt. Mix well to combine. Store up to 6 months in a cool, dry place. Suggested herbs and spices: chili powder, smoked paprika, rosemary, five spice powder, coriander, ground toasted cumin seeds, ground dried chile peppers (ancho, Hatch, pasilla, smoked Serrano, etc), ground dried mushrooms (porcini, black truffles)
Citrus Salt Yield: 1 cup Choose 1 or a combination: 4 to 5 medium oranges; 5 to 6 tangerines; 5 to 6 large lemons; 7 to 8 limes 1 cup coarse sea salt Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Wash and dry citrus. Using a small knife, cut citrus peel into small 1-inch strips, avoiding as much of the bitter white pith as possible. Scatter peel on a baking sheet. Place in oven, then immediately turn off the heat. Leave in oven for 3 hours. Remove dried citrus peel from oven (peel may not be completely dry; you don't want it to burn). Grind to a fine powder in a blender or spice mill. Remove any large pieces. Add 2 tablespoons of ground citrus peel to the salt. Mix well to combine. Store up to 6 months in a cool, dry place.