Winter Citrus Spices Up the Salt
Salt is an indispensable flavor enhancer, and boy-oh-boy do we Americans love our salt. Some say the difference between a home cook and a restaurant chef is the chef’s fearlessness in adding salt to d...
This salt has an Asian twist. Try it on rice, noodles, chicken teriyaki, beef, sushi or salmon, or even on chocolate fudge.
Ingredients
- 1 orange
- 1-inch knob ginger, peeled
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 cup sea salt
Instructions
Day 1
Place the peeled ginger in the freezer until slightly frozen (or allow to freeze hard and you will just need to allow time for it to thaw slightly).
Line a small tray or plate with foil.
Wash, dry and peel half the orange using a vegetable peeler or zester. Stack the peels on top of each other and slice into tiny strips. Next, slice the strips the other direction, creating a tiny dice.
Place diced peel on the foil-covered tray and allow to dry overnight, uncovered. The next day the zest should be dried out, yet still retain its vibrant color. If it is not yet completely dried, allow more time.
Preheat the oven to 170° F.
Line another small tray or plate with foil.
Remove the slightly frozen ginger from the freezer (or allow the ginger to thaw slightly if it is frozen solid), then grate it onto the second lined cookie sheet (freezing the ginger then allowing it to thaw slightly makes it easier to grate). Bake the grated ginger for an hour in the preheated oven. It will shrink up and turn slightly brown. Remove from the oven and scrape the ginger flakes into a bowl, using a rigid spatula. Crumble 3/4 teaspoon dried ginger into the 1 cup of salt and set aside.
Place the sesame seeds on a cutting board and give them a rough chop to release their oil. Add to the salt and ginger mixture. Leave the salt mixture uncovered overnight.
Day 2
Once the diced peel has completely dried out, add it to the salt, ginger and sesame seed blend and stir to combine.
Place into a pretty jar for storage—or gifting.
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