Kitchen Project: DIY Celery Salt

I am trying to lessen my family’s salt intake, and yet I wouldn’t want to sacrifice the flavor of the dish that I am cooking.  I have read from culinary magazines that the only way to intensify the taste is to add lots of herbs to the dish.   Hence, I possess an extensive assortment of dried herbs in my pantry.  In addition, I also have a few potted ones in my herb garden.  

Just a few days ago, my mother-in-law thoughtfully sent over a fine-looking bunch of celery  – thick, green stalks with substantial leaves.  I usually just throw away the leaves, but they possess so much flavor so I thought of finding good use for them.  I used the leaves to make Celery Salt.  

Celery leaves have a strong aroma, and is a wonderful addition when making soups.  I thought that making some Celery Salt would be a nice way to always have celery on hand.  Here’s how you can make one for your own kitchen pantry:

1.  Pick the leaves from each celery stalk and rinse with cold water.  Shake off excess water, pat with kitchen towels and lay out the leaves to dry thoroughly. 

2.  Once completely dry, heat up a skillet big enough to hold all the leaves in a single layer.  Toast the leaves over medium heat, careful not to brown the leaves.

3.  Remove from heat and let cool.  When cool, crumble the leaves to form small pieces and dispense with leaves that did not crisp up.

4.  Combine equal parts celery and salt.  I used fine-grain Himalayan pink salt as I have them in my kitchen.  I also added a few teaspoons of garlic powder and a big pinch of freshly ground black, green, white and pink peppercorns.  Mix to distribute the celery leaves evenly.  Store in a sealed container.

I immediately put the home-made celery salt to good use by making my kids favorite, Minestrone.

I got a profusion of thanks, coupled with "Mom, you're the best!"  Of course, I got a little help... The celery salt, the freshly picked basil leaves, and a generous sprinkle of Pecorino Romano! 

I hope this post encourages you to make your own Celery Salt! 

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