Years and years ago as a teenager I did a stint of eating macrobiotic and back then we made a LOT of gomasio and put it on everything! I can just taste it now. So good! We made it with sesame seeds and sea salt…simple enough. I decided to give it a go with hemp hearts, which are my current favorite and a recent successful food reintroduction.

Here is what I did. I can’t even call this a recipe…it’s a “barely recipe”.I toasted Manitoba Harvest shelled hemp hearts on medium high heat in a stainless skillet, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they started to brown a little bit. It took a few minutes for them to turn color. I was tinkering so I just put in a few tablespoons, but you can make a bigger batch.

Then I transferred them to my suribachi, a Japanese grooved mortar bowl and sprinkled in some Redmond Real Salt. I used kosher as I love the crunchy just right salt grain size. How much salt is a matter of preference. Start small. I used a few sprinkles. Yep, that is how I cook. If you are making a few tablespoons of seeds then try a 1/2 tsp to start, and add to taste. Remember this is a garnish so it can be a little saltier than if you were just eating it solo.

Grind it up using a Japanese wooden pestle called a surikogi. I bet you could do this in a food processor with just a few pulses, but I have the suribachi so it is fun to get to use it. Grind until there is a mixture of crushed and whole seeds.

That is pretty much it. Prepared gomasio sometimes has seaweed in it, so that is an optional add in. I like mine with just the seeds and salt.

I bet a smoked sea salt like Alaska Pure Alder Smoked Flake Salt would be amazing too, for a deeper umami flavor. It is my favorite smoked salt brand! My son brought it back as a gift from his first trip to Alaska so it holds a special place in my heart.

Gomasio is delicious sprinkled on top of dishes. I used to eat it on top of rice and will be having on my cauli rice for sure! Also great on top of chicken or fish or sprinkled on roasted veggies. So many possibilities. I served some to my mom and she was heading home to make some. It’s that good!