Herbal Butters and Oils
These easy, herb-infused delicacies make great (and inexpensive) gifts.
December/January 2010
By Patsy Bell Hobson
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Photography by Howard Lee Puckett
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Sidebar: Tips for Herbal Butters and Oils
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Recipe: Herb Dipping Oil
Recipe: Crusty No-Knead French Bread
Recipes for Herb Butters:
Nothing tastes better than herb butter on brioche, popovers, French rolls or hot dinner rolls. Herb butter on grilled meats and fresh vegetables elevates a quick-fix weekday meal into an elegant dinner. Add our suggested stir-ins from the recipes above, or blend in your own favorite herbs.
• Cilantro-Lime Butter
• Tarragon Butter
• Garden Herb Butter
• Garlic-Chive Butter: In small bowl, blend ½ stick softened butter or margarine, 2 cloves finely chopped garlic and 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives.
• Parmesan-Parsley Butter: In small bowl, blend ½ stick softened butter or margarine, 2 tablespoons shredded Romano cheese and 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley.
The price of herb-flavored oils and dipping sauces in gourmet shops might make you think they’re complicated, inherently expensive and difficult to make. Happily, this just isn’t true. You can make infused oils for the cost of some good cooking oil and a few herbs. In fact, you probably already have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now. As inexpensive as they are simple, they also make impressive gifts for any cook or hostess.
This project won’t take up much space, either. To infuse oil or butter with rich flavor, you need only a small amount of herbs. Plus, a dab of herb-infused oil adds a gourmet touch and layers of flavor to just about any savory recipe.
Herb-infused oils often are used to complement bread courses. But do be mindful of how much you’re consuming: Dipping oils taste lighter than most cream-based dips, but they still are 100 percent fat.
Flavored oils will be only as good as the oil you select for the recipe, so buy the best you can afford. Herbs can enhance the flavor of good-quality oil, but no matter what you add to a mediocre oil, the result never will be better than the ingredients.
I usually like the dark green, “olivey” flavor of extra virgin olive oil. I like to make a rich herb-flavored oil for dipping or seasoning, thereby reducing the amount of oil needed for in-depth flavors. Using a lighter-flavored oil, like light olive, grape seed or canola, will allow more of the herb flavor to be front and center.