You'll never run out of ideas for using these flavored butters, which you can keep in the freezer and slice as you need. I love it on corn-on-the-cob and tucked into baked potatoes, or as a finishing butter for risotto, swirled in at the end. You can also toss it with fresh pasta on an evening when you don't feel like cooking, or let a nugget of it melt on a grilled New York steak. Imagine how good a burger would be if the toasted bun were spread with a compound butter.
Roasted Garlic-Thyme Butter
Ingredients
1 head of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
Extra-virgin olive oil to cover
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh thyme
Preparation
- Put the garlic cloves in a saucepan with just enough olive oil to cover them. Place over low heat and simmer until the cloves are soft and golden, 30 to 40 minutes. With a slotted spoon, scoop the garlic into a bowl, then mash to a puree. Immediately strain the oil through a coffee filter and reserve.
- Process the butter in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add 1/4 cup of the garlic puree (save any extra for spreading on bread), 1 1/2 tablespoons of the reserved garlic oil, and the thyme. Process until well blended.
- Refrigerate until firm enough to shape into a log. Put an 18-inch sheet of aluminum foil on your work surface. Spoon the butter down the center of the foil into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Enclose in foil and twist the ends to make a sealed log, like a Tootsie Roll. Refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Yield: Makes 1/2 cup per recipe (116g)
Lemon-Parsley Butter
There is absolutely nothing subtle about it. Zest a whole lemon into a
bowl with unsalted butter and the smell alone will make you hungry.
It’s an intense lemony flavour that really goes well with rich butter. To
do this one right though, you’ll definitely want to get a microplane so
you can get a really fine zest and not get any of the white bitter part
in the lemon.
This one goes really well on baked things, but also can work on savory stuff. Try it with rice or some grilled fish for a nice finish.
This one goes really well on baked things, but also can work on savory stuff. Try it with rice or some grilled fish for a nice finish.
Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lemon, zest only
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lemon, zest only
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
Preparation
- Process the butter in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add lemon zest. Process until well blended.
- Refrigerate until firm enough to shape into a log. Roll log in parsley flakes to coat cylinder. Put an 18-inch sheet of aluminum foil on your work surface. Enclose butter log in foil and twist the ends to make a sealed log, like a Tootsie Roll.
- Refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Yield: 1/2 cup butter per recipe (116 g)
Cilantro Jalapeño Compound Butter
Great addition to meat or poultry.
Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed
2 teaspoons finely chopped shallot
2 tablespoons (packed) chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Cut butter into chunks and place in a bowl and bring to room temperature.
- Pulse the remaining ingredients in a food processor.
- Add the cilantro-jalapeño mixture to the butter and mash with a fork until thoroughly combined. The lime juice may not completely mix into the butter, but that’s okay.
- Refrigerate until firm enough to shape into a log. Put an 18-inch sheet of aluminum foil on your work surface. Enclose butter log in foil and twist the ends to make a sealed log, like a Tootsie Roll.
- Refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Yield: 1/2 cup butter per recipe (116g)
Source: recipes adapted from Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking Cookbook