I love having a jar of this meal-saver sprinkle in my refrigerator, because it always comes in handy when a quick savory meal or snack is missing a bit of sparkle. The inspiration here comes from sesame salt (gomashio), which is a Japanese condiment made up of a mix of toasted sesame seeds and salt. It’s a genius thing, because there is generally much less salt in proportion to the amount of sesame seeds, but the flavor is still satisfyingly salty, plus toasty from all the sesame. Gomashio is also highly regarded in the macrobiotic diet as a healthier salt alternative.
So, sesame salt is my inspiration here, but I mix in a few other healthful, sprinkle-appropriate ingredients – dulse seaweed (iodine = thyroid love), nutritional yeast (B12) and hemp hearts (protein!). I depend on dulse and nutritional yeast for their naturally salty properties, so the amount of actual salt is minimal in this recipe. I like to toast half of the dulse and leave the other half raw, which gives another dimension to its flavor. The whole mix is perfectly salty, toasty, with hints of the sea from the dulse and umami from the nutritional yeast. Most importantly, so many meals and snacks can be saved from being boring with this stuff – salads, veggie bowls, avocado halves, savory porridge, etc. etc. Give it a try!
There are some links below, Sunday hugs :)
S-Town – you’ve probably already heard of this podcast a million times and possibly already binge-listened to the whole thing. But if you haven’t, we highly recommend this amazing series from creators of This American Life/Serial.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s Powerful Personal Style + This Interview with Wanda Corn, Curator of Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern
New Zealand Road Trip with a Toddler
Heidi Swanson’s Youtube Channel
De Maria – this restaurant’s beautiful Instagram
Hannah Henderson (owner of the General Store) on Garance Dore
- ½ cup sesame seeds (I used a combination of regular and black)
- 2 tablespoons dulse flakes
- 2 tablespoons hemp hearts
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½-1 teaspoon sea salt (preferably flaky)
- Warm a dry pan over medium heat and add the sesame seeds. Toast, tossing frequently, for 1-2 minutes, until the seeds begin to pop and become fragrant. Be careful, the seeds can burn quickly. Transfer the seeds to a medium bowl.
- Coarsely grind half of the toasted sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle or a dedicated coffee grinder, and put them back into the bowl.
- In the same dry pan, toast 1 tablespoon of dulse for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Stir frequently and take care not to burn. Mix the toasted dulse into the bowl with the sesame seeds, along with the remaining 1 tablespoon of the raw dulse.
- Mix in the hemp hearts and nutritional yeast. If using flaky salt, massage it into the mixture with your hands to break it down a bit. If using regular salt, just mix it in with a spoon. Keep the mixture refrigerated in an air-tight glass container to preserve the freshness of the raw dulse and to keep the seeds from going stale. Enjoy!
Diane says
I’m not a fan of seaweed. How do you think this would work with crisped kale or spinach instead?
Anya says
Hi Diane,
I think the crisped greens would work well. You might need to add a bit more salt or nutritional yeast, since the dulse contributes some saltiness in the recipe.