Infused olive oils are fantastic for salad dressings, finishing off a pasta dishes or simply as an appetizer with chunks of artisan bread. It is also a great shortcut while cooking. And I love gifting friends little pots of these, makes for a fancy yet cheap present to bring to a dinner party.
You can try infusing the oil with fresh herbs (basil and rosemary are my favourite!) or spices (try pepper!). I'm going to make chilli oil today. Before you dismiss it, the oil is not going to be hell on your palette. The flavours are mild and it truly brings out any dish you incorporate it in. And I really wanted depth of flavour, which is why I opted for 3 kinds of chillies to infuse in the oil. The paprika and kashmir chillies bring out a beautiful colour while the Guntur chillies deliver the punch.
Ingredients:
1 bottle olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
2 dried Kashmiri chillies
1 tsp paprika powder
5 dried Guntur chilly
Heat oil gently on a low heat. Gently smash the garlic using the back of your knife, the garlic should be bruised but whole. Add this to the oil and then add the chillies. Let it warm on low heat for about 5 mins, until the oil changes colour and the chillies infuse into the oil.
Remove from heat and let it cool. Using a funnel pour the oil in a bottle. I quite like bits and pieces which is why I didn't use a sieve. If you don't like chunks of garlic or chilli flakes in your oil, I'd recommend running the oil through a sieve first.
Top it off by adding a whole dried Kashmiri chilly to the bottle and store in a cool dry place.
