Basil Salt

There's not another herb that says SUMMER  (or welcome to the neighborhood!) quite like a beautiful, full pot of basil.  But when summer starts to melt into fall that same pot can look a little forlorn.  The past two years I've used my end of summer stash to make basil salt.  The best things about basil salt are...it's easy to make and fabulous on just about anything you'd put salt on or in.

BASIL SALT

I packed about 2 cups of basil leaves and 1 cup of kosher or sea salt into a food processor and pulsed until the mixture looked like this...the aroma is amazing, by the way!

  

Next, I spread mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and baked for 30-40 minutes at 225 degrees. You need to keep an eye on it and mix it up occasionally so it dries evenly.

I took it out of the oven and  let it cool and then pulsed it again in a food processor.  If you like a coarser salt, I don't think you have to do this.

Store it in an airtight container and you have a little bit of summer to last all year!

It makes a great little gift for a hostess, friend, or new neighbor!

My guess is you could make this with almost any herb. I was given some wonderful Lavender Salt recently (yummy on watermelon!!) and I may try whipping some of that up....I'll let you know!

Did I mention I'm still living out of a suitcase 4 months after leaving Fort Riley?! I have a little time on my hands...