Basil butter is an easy way to preserve summer basil. The butter can be frozen to capture basil’s bright, herbaceous flavour to enjoy all winter.
The butter is especially delicious in scrambled eggs or omelets. It can also be used to make homemade garlic bread or as a spread for braai broodjies. It is also delicious over corn and sautéed veggies. Stir the butter into warm pasta for a flavour explosion.
The uses of this delicious-tasting butter are endless.
Ingredients
1 cup basil
1 clove fresh garlic minced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 lemon finely grated zest
500g butter at room temperature
Before you get started, you will need to soften the butter. The best way to do this is to leave the butter out at room temperature for a few hours.
You can use a food processor. I prefer doing this by hand. Using a spatula, mix the butter until soft.
To avoid bruising the leaves of the basil, I use a technique called Chiffonade. Stack a few fresh basil leaves and roll them up tight. Using a sharp knife, thinly slice the basil leaves.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the butter. Use the spatula and fold all the ingredients until the basil is covered with butter.
Spoon the butter into silicon cubes and freeze for later use. Once frozen, put the cubes into a freezer-safe bag or dish.
The butter will last up to a month in the fridge and six months in the freezer.
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