Sel Fou
– Herbs on Saturday –
Fool’s Salt or Sel Fou (French Style Seasoning Salt)
Every self-respecting French housewife has a tub of this by the side of her cooker; they are all slightly different depending on which region of France that you live in; this is my mixture and one that I use over and over again. It has just a hint of herbs & spices, enhancing a dish rather than overpowering it. The French call this “Sel Fou” or Fool’s Salt, which is a wonderful name for it I think. Please note, I have NOT added any chilli powder or Cayenne pepper in this mix – I realise that hot spices are popular in seasoning salts, but this is herbal rather than spiced salt seasoning. I use it to sprinkle over salads, add it to pasta, stews, soups, daubes, casseroles, pies, roast chicken & meat etc. It is also GREAT sprinkled onto hot Chips & over the top of pizzas. I don’t like to make huge quantities, due to the herbs losing their freshness and flavour – so, this makes about 125g (just over 5 ozs) of Fool’s Salt; you can of course increase the quantities if you wish.
Sel Fou
This would make a fitting recipe to add my monthly Herbs on Saturday Blog Hop that can be found here: Herbs on Saturday. Do join in with your herbal recipes and NOT just ones that you have made on Saturday, but during the week or the month of February.
Fool’s Salt – French Style Seasoning Salt
Print recipe
| Serves | 1 small jar |
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Region | French |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 50 g fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon onion salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic granules
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
- 1 tablespoon dried ground horseradish
- ½ teaspoon icing sugar
- ½ teaspoon cornflour
Note
The icing sugar and corn flour are essential as a stabilising element in this seasoning salt.
Directions
| Step 1 | In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together. |
| Step 2 | Store the salt in an open Salt Pig or a bowl with a small wooden salt scoop/spoon. Add about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon to stews, sauces, casseroles, pies, soups, pasta, etc. Alternatively, sprinkle over roast chickens or meats, salads, breads and pizzas. |
That’s all for today, a short and salty post today as I am très busy around the house and in the kitchen, see you tomorrow and have a wonderful start to the weekend. Karen
I’ve never heard of this before. Brilliant way to add a bit of whizz to everything.
Thanks! It is such an easy recipe and so handy to have for all savoury cooking!
I love the idea of herbed salt. I think rosemary would be lovely and I have plenty of it. Will do this tomorrow for my roast chicken!
Thanks Dom – Rosemary would be a great herb to add too, any herb really, those were just the herbs I had to hand at the time and as recommended by my French neighbour!
What a really useful salt to have for seasoning, I don’t like to buy those seasoning mixes because of all the added ingredients that seem to be unnecessary – I’m going to make a batch this afternoon. Thanks for this.
My thoughts exactly Jenny, which is why I like to make my own seasoning salts! Hope you enjoy it in our cooking as much as I do…..use any herbs you have to hand too. Karen
OOOOO… Horseradish in your salt mix! Love this! I submitted my mix of garli, sesame seeds and salt for your blog hop!
Keep the hens warm, we dipped below zero finally.
BTW, I showed your post from yesterday to my wife. She now wants a warm fennel salad to go with my scallops. Will have to sneak the pea puree into the main course
😉 Dave
Thanks Dave. We are having AWFUL weather here in Europe – I awoke to MINUS 10C this morning…..and the hens are NOT impressed! They are fine though, extra straw in their stone hut which is warm, well warmer than some huts.
LOVE the fact that your wife likes my warm fennel salad, LOL! Sneak that pea purée in when she is not looking!
THANKS for your herbs submission, off to look at it now!
Karen
Wonderful idea Karen.
I’m going to have to keep an eye out for dried horseradish – don’t think I’ve ever seen it.
Yes, I think you may be able to get it from specialist shops such as Seasoned Pioneers online.
I have never heard of this before Karen, but I am going to have a go. Such a simple idea, but such a good one. I will buy a new salt pig first, mine met a sticky end.
Simple and so handy Jac! I love it in all savoury meals and cooking.
What a lovely simple idea and so versatile too! Have a good weekend 🙂
Thanks Ros! You have a great weekend too!
What a great idea – love the herbed salt and love those gorgeous little pots too! Another reason to move to France!
Mary x
Thanks Mary! I picked to pots up in a Brocante and they were only about £2 (€3)!!
Such a good idea!
Thanks Jayne!
Karen you do keep coming up with these amazing ideas. Love it. And presented in a nice jar, it would make another great food gift – you’re a miracle 🙂
Thanks! *blush* It does make a great gift when presented in a nice jar or pot.
Think I’ll have to get onto Seasoned Pioneers for the horseradish, or failing that dig up the stubborn root that is lying dormant in the garden and perhaps drying and powdering it. I think the former! Anyway, love your fools’ salt combination and thanks for the cornflour/icing sugar tip – that’s a great one with lots of applications. I do a pepper blend that I think seems French – mixed peppercorns + cardamom seeds + coriander seeds, all in a pepper grinder for a fresh aromatic and salt-free zing. Love homemade herb and spice blends! PS It’s markedly warmer up here in central Scotland so our hens aren’t suffering. You and I both know that warm porridge is good so that’s what they get every day as a treat: I add in some rapeseed oil and manuka honey for extra calories and virus-fighting potential. I also oil bitter leaves for them, and sprinkle over a little garlic powder. No, they aren’t at all spoiled 😀
Thanks Kellie! I bought my powdered horseradish in France, I can look out for some for you if you wish and post it to you? Failing that, grated fresh horseradish that is then dried would work. You pepper blend sounds amazing, I make a citrus pepper that I love to add to salmon and other robust fish. I would LOVE to be one of your hens, Manuka honey and rapeseed oil! May need to sneak some of that in for my henny pennies! Karen
Yes this is good! I often buy the salt and herbs from Lakeland at about £5 a go – so this is going to save me some money!
It IS cheaper and you can add what YOU want to add too! Thanks Jacqueline.
I just found your blog a few weeks ago and tonight I have spent the whole evening looking through your marvelous blog and recipes. I just had to drop a line to tell you how delightful you blog and your recipes are. I love all the little stories about your food, holidays and such. It seem so wonderful to have such a tradition of food, eating and celebration tied up so much with holidays and history. This is not so true in America. You have a folder for only your recipes on my computer collection of recipes…only a couple of other blogs have a seperate folder! :>. Keep up the good work.
THANKS SO much for your lovely comments Jackie, you have really made my day! I feel ten feet tall and before I logged on here today, I was feeling a bit blue – the post-Festive season blues I suspect!
I love sharing traditional feasts and festivals, as well as recipes and notes about my life with my readers and I am thrilled that they have been appreciated so much by you! 🙂 🙂
Please do stop by regularly, I have lots more tales and recipes up my culinary sleeve and it was a pleasure to “meet” you through my blog!
Happy New Year for 2013 and see you soon!
Karen