With the holidays now in full swing, I thought I'd share a simple recipe for a rosemary finishing salt I've been using on everything. I absolutely love rosemary. It has a wonderfully unique aroma and taste that compliments so many flavors, sweet or savory. Since I have a large rosemary plant flourishing in my backyard, I'm always on the lookout for ways to use it up, aside from throwing it on gift wrap or using itty bitty clippings for dishes every now and then. So I resolved on infusing it into some kosher salt and spreading the love with Christmas gifts and using it as a rub for roasts or sprinkling on potatoes, etc. in my own kitchen!

You'll need:

1 box (3 lbs) coarse kosher salt

2 large handfuls fresh rosemary

5 drops therapeutic-grade rosemary essential oil (optional)

First, place your fresh rosemary into a large stock pot, then pour entire box of kosher salt over and around the sprigs. Cook on medium and heat contents through until hot, about 10 minutes, and the salt becomes fragrant. Using a wooden spoon, stir occasionally, gently pressing and crushing rosemary to help release some of the natural oils, incorporating it into the salt. Remove from heat and add 5 drops of rosemary essential oil. Stir very well. Remove some of the larger branches from pot and carefully pour all of the salt through a sifter into a large bowl. Pour through and shake in order to remove the larger sprigs from the salt.

I took the remaining sprigs in the sifter and decided to chop them up and add them into the batch. Whisk salt to incorporate rosemary evenly throughout.

Divide the salt into desired sealable containers right away in order to preserve that wonderful rosemary essence!