FRESH HERBS/OLIVE OIL into ICE CUBES – Tasty Thursday

What’s the best way to preserve fresh herbs? The answer may surprise you.

Nothing compares to the taste of fresh herbs from the farmers market.

However, I’m always disappointed when I can’t use my rosemary, oregano, sage or thyme before they expire. Especially here as they are quite pricy.

When I was browsing on internet recently, I saw a pretty genius idea that allows the herbs to infuse into the olive oil while freezing, and the cubes come in pretty handy for cooking. You just pop one out of the ice cube tray and into your saucepan. The infused olive oil then becomes the base of your dish. Since dill, basil and mint should always be used fresh, today I’m going to show you how to make these ice cubes using rosemary and sage (thyme and oregano will work too). Let’s get started…

Option 1:

• olive oil

• fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano work best)

• ice cube tray

Instruction:

1. Chop your herbs into medium sized pieces. 2. Fill the ice cube tray with your chopped herbs. 3. Pour the olive oil into each cube, leaving a little room at the top (they will expand when freezing). 4. Place in the freezer overnight. 5. Pop out an ice cube and put it into your saucepan. Start cooking!

This trick is a great way to make delicious food without letting fresh herbs go to waste. But it’s also convenient and healthy too. Using one olive oil ice cube allows you to of oil and fat you are putting into your dish. Plus, making an entire tray of olive oil ice cubes in one sitting will save you the trouble of dicing and chopping up your herbs each time you cook. Pretty genius, if you ask me.

Option 2:

• Wash herbs, discarding stems and damaged leaves. Spin leaves dry in a salad spinner or dry well with paper towels.

• Place herbs in food processor with ⅓ cup olive oil for every 2 cups of leaves.

• You can add grated citrus rind, ginger, or garlic for extra flavor.

• To make sure herb oils are adaptable to a wide variety of uses, don’t add cheese or nuts.

• Pulse processor, scraping down sides of bowl from time to time, until you get a chunky paste and all leaves are chopped.

• To package for freezing, put 1 cup herb oil in a ziploc bag, then flatten and spread mixture to make a thin layer. Freeze flat.

• Best used within 6 months.

Will you give this olive oil ice cube trick a try?

Source: http://laurenconrad.com/blog/2013/08/herb-infused-olive-oil-cubes-recipe-rosemary-sage-lauren-conrad-august-2013/

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