Nasturtium Salt: Recipe, Variations & How to Use It

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Nasturtium salt adds a peppery and salty note to food. Here’s how to make it, along with variations to try and how to use it to add flavour.

There are many benefits to growing nasturtiums in the edible garden aside from the sheer beauty of their cascading green leaves and vibrant flowers. This sacrificial plant not only lures bees to its flowers and a range of garden pests away from prized crops, the leaves, flowers and seeds are edible, making it a must-have in the garden.

• You may also like… How to Grow Nasturtiums from Seed

In this article, I’ll be sharing an easy way to make use of nasturtium leaves but making nasturtium salt that can be used to flavour food. Nasturtiums have a peppery note and when combined with salt, they become a condiment that can have many uses in the kitchen.

Making nasturtium salt is an easy process that requires little effort. All you need is an oven and a type of food processor be it a blender, a NutriBullet even a mortar and pestle will do. You can use a dehydrator but as I don’t have one, my recipe uses the oven method.

Nasturtium Salt Recipe

Recipe by The Gourmantic Garden

Ingredients

• 25g fresh nasturtium leaves and a couple of flowers (makes 1/2 cup dried leaves)
• 1/4 cup sea salt flakes

Method

1. Harvest nasturtium leaves. Choose the best looking leaves ensuring they’re free of bugs including aphids, leaf miners and caterpillar eggs.
2. Give them a gentle wipe with a piece of moistened kitchen paper to remove any residual dirt or insects. Note: Do not rinse under water.
3. Spread the leaves on oven trays lined with greaseproof paper with no overlap.
4. Place in a fan-forced oven on a very low setting until they’re dry and slightly crisp. Mine took 1.5 hours at 50^oC.
5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
6. Using your fingers, crumble the dried leaves and flowers into small pieces.
7. In a food processor/blender/NutriBullet/spice grinder/mortar and pestle, add the crumbled and dry nasturtium leaves and sea salt flakes in a 2:1 ratio and blitz to your preferred consistency.
8. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
9. The nasturtium salt will keep in a dry cool place for one year.

Variations to Try

Below are some variations to the above recipe that you can try:

• add dried chilli to the mix for a touch of heat and spice
• use different types of salt such as pink Himalayan salt or black lava salt
• add more nasturtium flowers for a more vibrant colour
• use a spice grinder to blitz the mixture to a fine powder consistency instead of a semi-coarse salt
• add dehydrated lime or lemon peel for a zesty note

How to Use Nasturtium Salt

Nasturtium salt adds a peppery and salty note to food and is an alternative to salt and pepper. Use it to flavour marinades, salads, baked vegetables, scrambled eggs, sauces, roast chicken and meats even as a seasoning for chips. For something a little different, you can use it to cure fish such as salmon. In cocktails, it makes a great edible garnish and it can be used to rim a glass.

Next time you’re making a batch, keep in mind that nasturtium salt is a great edible gift to share with friends and family. And if you do make it, tag @the.gourmanticgarden on instagram so we can see it.

Want to Know More?

You’ll find more information on how to grow 50 botanicals, which varieties to try, how to pair them with food and spirits, and how to use them in cocktails including a full recipe in my 260+ page digital book GROW YOUR OWN COCKTAIL GARDEN available now.