Heidi Swanson's Nori Compound Butter with Salmon and Brown Rice and/or Baby Radishes

I love nothing better than a simply cooked piece of good fish or roasted veggies or grains topped with a bit compound butter--it adds so much flavor and richness. I love making compound butter with different ingredients so I have been wanting to try Heidi Swanson's Nori Butter--a blend of toasted nori seaweed, sesame seeds, yuzu or lemon zest, cayenne and cumin. 

In her Near & Far cookbook, Heidi has the nori butter paired with baby radishes--which sounded good, but I envisioned it topping a piece of salmon and I liked her idea of mixing it into some brown rice.

 
Paired together, it made for a delicious dinner. 
 

   
Nori Butter
From Near & Far by Heidi Swanson
(Makes 1/2 Cup of Compound Butter)
 
1 (8-inch) sheet of nori
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 tsp fine-grain sea salt
1/4 tsp yuzu or lemon zest
4 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground toasted cumin

Toast the nori by waving it over a gas burner or toasting in the oven or in a dry pan until it brightens and crisps up. Let cool, then crumble and/or chop into the smallest pieces you can manage. Set aside.

Using a spoon, cream the butter in a bowl until light. Add the nori, salt, yuzu or lemon zest, sesame seeds, cayenne, and cumin. Stir until the ingredients are evenly distributed. 

Place butter into a ramekin or other container, or place in silicone molds for fun shapes and chill in the fridge or freezer. 

Serve alongside radishes or other raw veggies, over fish or warm brown rice. Store covered in the fridge for up to a week.

Notes/Results: I love this butter--lots of flavor and it went perfectly with the salmon and in the rice. It would pair with any fish--even the lighter-flavored ones as well as any vegetable you want to give a pop of umami to. I tried it with the baby breakfast radishes that Heidi recommends in the book and the pairing of the sharp radish and savory, slightly salty butter works really well together. For the rice, I stirred the butter into the warm rice and topped it with a bit of extra nori pieces and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. I am going to try it on popcorn this weekend--I used a curry compound butter on some a while back and think this one would be equally good. I'll let you know. ;-) I will definitely make this recipe again.

I'm linking this post up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is Foods We Love--Heidi Swanson recipes featuring our favorite ingredients. You can see what dishes everyone made by checking out the picture links on the post. 

Happy Aloha Friday!