This garnish is a textural element that brings a nice crunch to softer foods, such as fish or vegetables. The granules are visually striking and tie the food to the ocean, along with the nori. Serve grilled halibut over a bed of Sonoma Sand or fold it into puréed cauliflower. It’s aromatic, flavorful, and both gluten-free and vegan.

Instructions

Yields 1 cup

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 1.5 hours

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For the Sonoma sand, preheat oven to 275° and heat seasoned water in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Pierce the sunchokes all over and steam or simmer in the stockpot until completely cooked through. Remove from the pot. When the sunchokes have cooled enough to handle, peel by hand, keeping the skins as intact as possible. Reserve the flesh for another purpose. Place the skins on an oiled baking sheet and bake in a low oven until they just begin to crisp and color (approximately 15-20 minutes). Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 300°.

While the sunchoke chips are cooling, rub olive oil into the cooked quinoa, season with salt and pepper and toast in a 300° oven on an oiled baking sheet until crisp (approximately 15-20 minutes). Cool and reserve. Crush the sunchoke chips with the bottom of a heavy pan or the side of a chef’s knife (do not pulverize completely, the goal is to add texture). Combine crushed sunchoke chips, toasted quinoa and all remaining ingredients. Store in an air-tight container. Sand will keep well for up to two weeks.