Tip of the Month 2

Hi guys,

Did you know, that you can make your own flavoured oils using your Panasonic microwave?

As a great example, try this simple recipe for basil oil.

Ingredients

• Large bunch fresh basil
• 200ml sunflower oil

Method

Remove all the basil leaves and dispose of the stems. Place the leaves flat on a small sheet of greaseproof paper – or as we call it in France, ‘butcher paper’ – and place this on a microwaveable oven tray. Cook on a medium heat three times for 30 seconds each, just whipping the tray out every time to release the moisture as vapour, as in fact what you are doing is dehydrating the basil.

Then, for the second stage, switch to three more times on a low heat but for 35 seconds each.

By now, the herb leaves should be dry and so it is time to mix them with the oil in a blender. Next, transfer the mixture to a small pan and cook this on a medium heat on the hob, raising the temperature gradually to 40 degrees Celsius. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the oil to infuse until it is until cold, before passing it through a muslin cloth (or layers of kitchen towel) – and you now have a beautiful, tasty green basil oil.

Other herbs to try – you can use exactly the same method with flat parsley, mint, chervil or coriander, just varying the timings by a few seconds to get the same dried effect.

Merci!

Daniel Galmiche

• Tweet