Vegetable Ash
You might expect vegetables reduced to ash to taste like carbon, but the ash retains a remarkable amount of the vegetables’ original character. Vegetable ash can be a finishing sprinkle on soups, cooked veggies, cheeses, or meats. It’s also great in sauces, where it adds flavor. There are manifold possibilities, both for the vegetable matter used to create the ash and the applications.
For this recipe, we are sticking with onion skins and the pale and dark green parts from leeks, but you can use almost any vegetable scrap to create different nuances. Corn husks and silk, fennel fronds, citrus peel, and herbs all provide opportunities to get creative with ash. After making your vegetable ash, create salts and simple syrups to use for seasoning dishes and creating cocktails/mocktails.
Ingredients
4 leek tops, roughly chopped
Any amount of onion skins
Spread a single layer of onion skins and leek tops on a metal baking sheet. Place under the broiler with the rack 8 inches from the flame and cook, turning once or twice, until thoroughly charred and crisp, about 1 hour. Ensure adequate ventilation with an open window and the oven vent on high.
Remove from the oven, cool completely, then pulverize in a food processor or powerful blender, or in batches in a spice grinder. Store indefinitely in a tightly sealed container.
Vegetable Ash Salt
Combine equal parts powdered ash with sea salt (smoked or plain) and pulverize once again. Store indefinitely in a tightly sealed container.
Vegetable Ash Simple Syrup
To make syrup, heat 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water on the stove until sugar dissolves, then add 2 tablespoons of vegetable ash. Let sit for 30 minutes, until cool. Strain through a mesh sieve into a glass jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.
