Rock or flaky salt in a bag is pretty cheap in the shops. And it’s handy for all kinds of things, like covering your wooden chopping board with it to sanitise once you’ve placed meat on it or making a thick crust around something like fish or chicken for a twist on roasting. It’s also a good way to use leftover fresh herbs or veg you are aren’t sure what to do with by turning them into flavoured salt. I’m going to do a series of the different flavour combos I’ve tried, starting with this one: beetroot and dill. This goes really well with fish and soup and is quite flavoursome. It gets a lovely purple hue. I used fresh dill but if you want it to last a bit longer in the pantry you can use dried dill (it will taste slightly different but still good).
Ingredients
1 beetroot, sliced very thinly with a peeler or mandolin grater
1 bunch of dill
Half cup rock or flaky salt
Method
Preheat oven to 70ºC – 100ºC (the purpose is to dehydrate the ingredients, not necessarily cook them but a bit of heat intensifies the flavour). Add beetroot slices and dill sprigs onto metal rack that allows air to circulate (I used the existing oven shelf) and turn oven fan on if the option is available. When the beetroot and dill are crisp to the touch and dried through, add to food processor and blend until beetroot, dill and salt are almost equal-sized pieces. You can also blend the ingredients using a pestle and mortar or coffee grinder to blend the ingredients. Store in a sterilised jar in a cool place and it should last up to two months.
