Do you enjoy the flavor of fresh herbs in your meals?
Do you wish you could preserve the summer flavors into the colder winter months?
Herb butter is great for sauteing vegetables, embellishing cooked rice and pasta dishes, seasoning chicken and pork, spread onto a slice of fresh baked bread, or melting on top of baked potatoes.
Herbed Butter
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs finely chopped
Instructions
- Place butter in a bowl and leave out at room temperature until it softens.
- Carefully rinse leaves and remove the stems and discolored leaves. Pat dry. Finely chop the herbs.
- Using a fork, mash herbs and butter together until thoroughly combined.
- Scoop the herb butter onto a piece of waxed or parchment paper. Shape it into a log. Wrap the herb butter loosely, place in freeze until firm. Tightly wrap firm butter and store in an airtight freezer bag. Refrigerate for up to two months, or freeze up to six months in an airtight freezer bag.
- Slice off the amount needed with a sharp knife.
Notes
Blends to try:
Parsley and lemon zest
Rosemary and thyme
Lemon balm and rosemary
Lemon balm, parsley, thyme, rosemary (pictured)
Add elegance to a butter dish
Garnishing the herb butter with a fresh sprig of the herbs used in the blend.
Notables
For the richest flavor, use herbs harvested from the garden (or planters) at their peak.
When fresh-from-the-garden herbs are out-of-season, use fresh herbs from the produce section at the local grocery store.
Preparing herb butter provides a tasty solution to preserving an abundant crop of fresh herbs and adding rich flavor to meals.
