Easy Recipe: Fresh Herb & Sea Salt Blend – Rosemary

I’m pretty obsessed with my rosemary sea salt these days. It’s SO simple to make and they sell it at the local farmers market for a lot more than it costs to just do-it-yourself… shocking! This may seem really basic, but it’s REALLY good – and a fantastic way to keep herbs readily available to sprinkle on anything. If you can grow a rosemary bush, rock on – you’ll have a pretty endless supply as they tend to grow pretty heartily.

Eating rosemary, as with most herbs, offers some wonderful health benefits. According to whfoods.com:

“The wonderful smell of rosemary is often associated with good food and great times. But it could just as easily be associated with good health. Rosemary contains substances that are useful for stimulating the immune system, increasing circulation, and improving digestion. Rosemary also contains anti-inflammatory compounds that may make it useful for reducing the severity of asthma attacks. In addition, rosemary has been shown to increase the blood flow to the head and brain, improving concentration.”

Here’s what I do to make my rosemary sea salt.

Fresh Herb & Sea Salt Blend – Rosemary

I love using coarse grey sea salt like this one.

(I have also made this with sage but use whatever herbs you like!)

Ingredients:
Fresh rosemary – lots of it!
(A few bunches perhaps)
1/4-1c Coarse celtic sea salt: grey, white or a blend
(Quantity depends on how much you want to make)

Preparation:
Remove the rosemary from the stems and make sure you remove any non-herb stem pieces from the mix.

Spread the rosemary onto a glass baking sheet or several if you need to.

Dry the rosemary in your oven on the lowest heat setting you can. It will likely take at least an hour but it may take more. You want it to dry out to the point where the color changes and it is easy to break in your fingers.

I have a few of these glass baking dishes I use.

Place dried rosemary into a food processor – I use the one that came with my hand blender since it’s small – and grind it up until it’s as small as possible. Remove the dried and ground rosemary and measure how much you have.

Add the coarse sea salt to the processor little by little beginning with an amount that is 1/2 of whatever the amount of rosemary was. So, for example, if you had 1/2c of ground, dried rosemary, add 1/4c of salt. Grind that together and add more salt as you like.

I like the mixture to end up looking about 50/50 herb/salt so that when I add it to a dish, it’s not overpowering on either end.

That’s it! Do you want to try this recipe with other herbs? If so, which ones? Go for it! Then let me know how it goes.

Enjoy & be well!
Diane Sanfilippo
BS, Certified Nutrition Educator, C.H.E.K. Holistic Lifestyle Coach
San Francisco Nutritionist & Paleo Nutritionist serving the Bay Area and beyond via phone & Skype consultations.

About the author

Diane Sanfilippo BS, Certified Nutrition Consultant, C.H.E.K. Holistic Lifestyle Coach is a New Jersey-based Holistic & Paleo Nutritionist serving clients locally and beyond (US & international) via phone, Skype consultations and nutrition seminars nationwide. Author of “Practical Paleo: A Customized Approach to Health and a Whole-Foods Lifestyle.” Creator of The 21-Day Sugar Detox, a program designed to help you bust sugar and carb cravings in 21 days with the help and support of a community who is all in it together! Co-host of The Balanced Bites Podcast, a weekly radio show about all things health and nutrition.

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