3 ways with sea salt flakes
Sweet and savoury recipes using the store cupboard staple to boost flavour and add texture
Salted honey polenta cake
Blend the polenta in a high-powered blender for a few seconds before adding to the batter if you prefer your cake a little finer in texture. Sea salt adds richness and brings out the taste of the honey, so use a good-quality honey for this recipe as the flavour will really stand out.
1 HOUR + COOLING | SERVES 8-10 | EASY | GF
olive oil 200ml, plus extra for the tin
golden caster sugar 100g
runny honey 100g, plus 4 tbsp
eggs 3
Maldon Sea Salt Flakes 1 tsp, plus a pinch to serve
lemon 1, zested, plus 2 tbsp of juice
polenta 150g
baking powder 1 tsp
ground almonds 200g
crème fraîche and seasonal fruit to serve
1 Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Oil and line a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper.
2 Whisk the sugar, 100g of honey and eggs with an electric whisk for 5 minutes until very foamy and doubled in size. Add the oil, continually whisking, then fold in ½ tsp of the salt, the lemon zest, polenta, baking powder and almonds. Scrape into the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden and risen, and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.
3 While the cake is cooling, heat the remaining 4 tbsp of honey, 2 tbsp of lemon juice, ½ tsp of salt and 1 tbsp of water in a pan over a medium heat until reduced to a light syrup. Spoon over the cooling cake. Serve with a pinch of sea salt, a dollop of crème fraîche and seasonal fruits.
PER SERVING (10) 478 kcals | fat 33.1G saturates 4.1G | carbs 36.2G | sugars 25.1G fibre 0.5G | protein 8.6G | salt 0.8G
Seaweed and sesame season-all salt
An umami-rich seasoning that can multi-task, this recipe is inspir ed by furikake, a Japanese condiment often sprinkled over rice as a seasoning. Experiment with this homemade version, adding citrus peel, chilli flakes or crushed peppercorns, if you like.
5 MINUTES | MAKES 100G | EASY | VEGAN | GF
black or mixed sesame seeds 2 tsp
nori ½ a large sheet or 4 small snacking sheets
Maldon Sea Salt Flakes 2 tbsp
caster sugar 1 tsp
1 Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until lightly toasted. Tip out and leave to cool. Break or snip the nori into small pieces, then pulse in a blender a few times until finely chopped.
2 Mix together the ingredients and keep in an airtight jar for up to two months. Sprinkle over sushi rice, salmon and steamed veggies, or use to season popcorn, quail’s eggs for dipping or devilled eggs as a canapé.
Blueberry margarita
You’ll get a stronger colour using frozen and defrosted blueberries – but it’s the spiced salt rim that will make this upgraded classic your new go-to summer cocktail.
10 MINUTES | SERVES 1 | EASY
lime 1, zested, plus a wheel to serve
mild chilli powder 1 pinch
Maldon Sea Salt Flakes a pinch
blueberries (fresh or defrosted from frozen) 25g
agave nectar 2 tsp
tequila 50ml
triple sec 25ml
1 Mix together the lime zest, chilli powder and salt on a small plate. Cut the lime in half and run one half around the lip of a glass, and dunk into the salt to stick to the rim. Juice both halves of the lime and pour into the glass, along with the blueberries and agave syrup. Pound with a muddler or the end of a rolling pin until the blueberries are thoroughly puréed. Add a handful of ice, then pour over the tequila and triple sec. Give everything a stir before serving.
2 Alternatively, make a pitcher. Times all the ingredients by eight, and put the blueberries, lime juice and agave into a blender. Whizz to a purée, then tip into a jug with the ice, tequila and triple sec, and stir. Serve in eight salt-rimmed glasses.
