Sea Salt

TAKING FLAVOUR FROM ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY

After 20 years of making an award-winning sea salt the Lea-Wilson family have put together a collection of recipes on how to showcase this often misunderstood and misused ingredient. A core part of cooking, correct seasoning is what separates a good meal from a great one. It isn’t a simple case of how much is used but when these salty crystals are used: at the beginning of meal prep to help sunny tomatoes sing; dusting your meat just before cooking to help the salty char form and the meat stay juicy; or right at the very end scattered over a chocolate torte to make it all the more chocolate-y. And where would we be without the perfect combination of delicate sea salt and caramel? Just as crucial is how sea salt is used: as a brine, cure, key component in pickle or in flora and fauna kissed by the sea.

Covering the basics from low-fuss ‘cooking’ with raw ingredients in simple salads and the perfect salted butter, to salty snacks and comfort food for rainy days. As well as providing a masterclass in seasoning with spectacular dishes from seafood cooked over fire, a Reuben sandwich from scratch or even the perfect fritto misto that will keep you coming back for more. Not forgetting some perfectly balanced drinks with a hint of sea salt to enhance their flavour. These recipes from the Anglesey-based family will help alter how you use salt in all aspects of your cooking, making it work harder and bring better seasoned dishes to your table.

‘This delightful, fresh-feeling cookbook reiterates the idea that cooking simple recipes with good ingredients is the food revolution we are all looking for.’ – Thomasina Miers, former UK Masterchef winner, writer for the Guardian and TV presenter

Author Biography

The Lea-Wilson’s lives have centred around sea salt – making it, perfecting it and travelling the world selling it – for over twenty years. They made their first batch from the sparkling seas around Anglesey, an island off North Wales, in a saucepan on an old Aga in 1997. Halen Mon (Anglesey Salt), was born. Nowadays, their pans may be a little bigger, but their ethos and provenance remain the same. Their commitment to the craft has earned them Protected Designation of Origin status. They supply home cooks and Michelin-starred chefs the world over, have seasoned Barack Obama’s favourite caramels and are a named ingredient in a variety of products from Pipers Crisps to Green and Black’s chocolate. It is a love of both the island of Anglesey and the pleasure of good food that spurs the family-run company forward, and their range of award-winning, flavourful condiments and seasonings is expanding to evermore delicious heights.