Elevate Your Meals With These Easy Homemade Infused Oils
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Infused oils have unrivalled varied uses – from dipping crusty bread in them for a quick snack or have a healthy drizzle over your salads and pasta, these oils add a mild burst of flavour and sometimes colour, to a plate of food. Not only are these infused oils perfect as shortcuts for the food you cook in your own kitchen, they also make for great edible gifts to bring for friends. Using ingredients that already possess an aroma of their own, is a great way to promise yourself a flavour-packed oil from the get-go. Ingredients like lemon zest, fresh herbs, garlic or even thinly sliced spring onions are perfect as flavours to infuse into what is potentially a condiment.

The interesting way to incorporate and make your own infused oils at home requires some time and patience and more importantly, a keen eye on temperature to ensure that your ingredients do not burn and turn bitter due to overheating. Here are three simple infused oils you can easily make at home and boost the taste of your food almost instantly.

Thecha Oil

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The famous Maharashtrian condiment gets a desi kick and can easily give burnt chilli crisps a run for its money; all thanks to the riot of flavours.

Ingredients

  • 100 ml vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
  • 2 green chillies, chopped
  • 8 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon roasted peanuts, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon light soya sauce
  • 1 teaspoon raw sugar

Method

  • Add all the ingredients to a small bowl as you heat the oil in a small pan until it reaches smoking point.
  • Pour it gently over the waiting bowl of ingredients and allow it to sit covered for two days before refrigerating until ready to use over eggs, avocado, hummus, etc.

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Herb Infused Oil

Image Credits: Jenni Kayne

Having a bowl of this beautifully ‘grassy’ and herby oil on a charcuterie board or just to dip a piece of crusty bread into it for a quick snack, is such a satisfying way to enjoy this flavoursome oil.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups olive oil
  • 10 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 10 sprigs thyme
  • 10 sprigs fresh oregano
  • 7-8 cloves garlic

Method

  • Add the herbs and garlic to cold oil and use gentle heat to bring it to a heating point where the herbs begin to sizzle.
  • As the garlic releases its aroma and starts to brown on the edges, take the oil off the heat and let it sit until it cools down completely.
  • Drain and store with a fresh sprig of rosemary, thyme and oregano in the oil.

Bagna Cauda

Image Credits: Buonissimo

The Italian phrase for ‘hot bath’, the bagna cauda is a deliciously salty and garlicky oil which is essentially dipping oil set up on a grazing table with crudites. You could also store the leftover oil and use as a base for some delicious tomato sauce for pasta.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 anchovies

Method

  • Add all the ingredients to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a low simmer on a stovetop.
  • Break the anchovies into tiny bits with your spoon and once the mixture warms up, remove from the heat and place on a portable burner.
  • Dip all kinds of crunchy vegetables into this oil or enjoy with some bread and cheese on the side.