Advent Day 4, 2017: Spiced Finishing Salts 4 Ways: Za’atar, Harissa, Herbes de Provence, Ras el Hanout

So, if you’ve been keeping up with my 2017 Advent Calendar, you’d notice that today’s Advent TBD is to Make Spiced Finishing Salts to give as gifts.

I have to say, Finishing Salts are the easiest kitchen gift I’ve ever made. If you’ve got some nice, flaky kosher salt, a decent spice blend, and some pretty little bottles, you can have your gift ready in a matter of minutes. Heck, you can even bypass the the mortar and pestle and shake the salt and spices together in the jar!

The key to my success with this gift, I think, is that I’ve chosen flavour profiles that are a bit on the wild side. Oh, but what a pretty red and green they make perched up beside each other! Also, you’ll notice that these are all dried spices. So there’s no need to dehydrate anything (i.e. citrus peel) before blending spice and salt.

In the recipe card below, I’ve provided two options for each flavour profile. Either mix salt with store-bought spices, perhaps with the addition of a few whole spices for looks, or make your own spice blend from scratch. The homemade Ras El Hanout towards the end is a bit of a mammoth in that regard, but it CAN be done. And it’s SOOO worth it!

Now, wait a minute, what can these things be used for? Well, “finishing salts” implies that you can drop a wee bit on the top of a completed side or entree, say, a lovely steak or a pretty little salad. But, you can also mix these up in your favourite salad dressings or with a bit of oil,  as a marinade.

The way you wrap the salts is up to you. I’m going to get the kids to make little gift tags, punch holes in them, and string them around the necks of the jars with a bit of festive ribbon. We’re not there yet. These printable tags are also cute.

Print Recipe

Spiced Finishing Salts 4 Ways: Za'atar, Harissa, Herbes de Provence, Ras el Hanout

Each Finishing Salts recipe fills one 2/3 cup jar.  The Spice Blend recipes vary in volume.

Ingredients

Za'atar Finishing Salts

• 1/2 cup flaky kosher salt or sea salt
• 2 tbs Za'atar Spice Blend
• For storebought I recommend Loblaw's Arz Zaatar Jerusalem Blend and the Za'atar from House of Spice

Za'atar Spice Blend

• Makes 2/3 Cup
• 1/4 c sumac
• 2 tbs marjoram
• 2 tbs oregano
• 2 tbs thyme
• 2 tbs roasted or raw sesame seeds

Harissa Finishing Salts

• 1/2 cup flaky kosher salt or sea salt
• 2 tbs  Harissa Dry Spice Blend
• I recommend Bulk Barn or Spice Trader

Harissa Dry Spice Blend

• Makes almost 1/2 a cup. If you don't have access to whole seeds or spices use half of the amount listed, ground.
• 1 tbs cumin seeds half of them ground
• 1 tbs coriander seeds half of them ground
• 1 tbs caraway seeds half of them ground
• 2 tbs Fennel seeds half of them ground
• 1-2 tbsp chili flakes or 1-3 tsp crushed chiles or a mix of both
• 1 tbs paprika preferably smoked
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried mint [optional]
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon [optional]
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger [optional]1/2 tsp cayenne [optional]

Herbes de Provence Finishing Salts

• 1/2 cup flaky kosher salt or sea salt
• 2 tbs Herbes de Provence
• For storebought I recommend McCormick or Spice Trader

Herbes de Provence Spice Blend

• Makes about 1/2 cup. All the herbs below are dried flake or whole version as opposed to ground.
• 3 tbs Thyme
• 2 tbs Savoury
• 1 tbs Oregano
• 1 tbs Rosemary
• 1 tbs Lavendar
• 1 tbs Marjoram
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2-3 crumbled bay leaves

Ras El Hanout Finishing Salts

• 1/2 cup flaky kosher salt or sea salt
• 2 tbs ground Ras el Hanout
• For storebought I recommend Spice Trader or Williams Sonoma

or

• 1/2 cup flaky kosher salt or sea salt
• 1 tbs Ras el Hanout
• 1-2 tbs mixed dried spices such as cumin seeds chili flakes, coriander seeds, lavendar, and rose petals

Ras el Hanout Spice Blend

• makes 1/4 cup
• 2-3 tbs flat cinnamon stick shards or 1 cinnamon stick broken, or or up to 1 tbs ground cinnamon
• 1 tbs dried rosebud petals or 1 1/2 tsp ground roses
• 12 green cardamom pods or 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds or 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp coriander seed or 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp black peppercorns or 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp  dried anise seed or 1/2 tsp ground anise seeds
• 1 tsp dried lavender flowers or 1/2 tsp ground lavender
• 1 tsp dried fennel seed or 1/2 tsp ground fennel seeds
• 1 tsp dried fenugreek or 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 tsp saffron or 1/2 tsp ground saffron
• 1 tsp white peppercorns or 1/2 tsp white pepper [ground cayenne or chili pepper can be used in its place]
• 2 dried bay leaves or 1/4 teaspoon ground bay leaves
• 2 tbs ground paprika
• 1 tbs ground turmeric [fresh dried turmeric may be used to taste but shelf life may decrease]
• 1 1/2  tsp ground allspice or allspice berries
• 1 1/2 tsp ground galangal or, for a twist, use amchoor powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger [fresh dried ginger may be used but shelf life may decrease]
• 1 1/2 tsp  ground mace
• 1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg or 2 whole nutmegs ground
• 1 1/2 tsp ground orris root
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or 2-6 cloves ground

Instructions

For All Finishing Salts

• Gently bash the salt and spices in a mortar and pestle.
• Transfer to a jar. 

Za'atar Spice Blend, Harissa Spice Blend, and Herbes de Provence Spice Blends

• Mix all spices together
• Transfer to an airtight container.
• Store for 6 months to a year.

Ras el Hanout Spice Blend

• Place all whole or non-ground spices in a grinder devoted to spices and pulse until fully ground.
• Add the remaining ground spices and grind until combined.
• If desired, pass through a fine sieve.
• Funnel spice blend into an airtight container.
• Store for 6 months to a year.