By LOUISE RHIND-TUTT
The Flavorful Butter Ina Garten Always Has Stocked In Her Fridge
Chef Ina Garten always keeps a large amount of self-made herb butter handy. Her trick is making compound butter, a mix of butter with herbs, spices, booze, or bone marrow.
Garten uses herb butter in a number of ways, from spreading it on bread to add the perfect touch to delicate smoked salmon sandwiches to mixing it with caramelized roasted veggies.
You can melt a slice or spoon of fresh herb butter with garlic over roasted chicken or grilled steak, add it to fish dishes, or stir it through hot baby potatoes or other veggies.
Herb butter even works when incorporated into pasta, gnocchi, or garlic bread. All you need to do to make herb butter is mix a stick of room-temperature butter with fresh herbs.
You can use dill, parsley, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, chives, or other herbs. Garten uses a mixer with a paddle attachment and adds scallion, salt, pepper, and lemon juice or zest.
Garten prefers Cabot unsalted butter since it lets her add salt to taste, as opposed to salted butter, which can contain varying amounts. Feel free to use any other brand you like.
Using different fresh herbs like oregano, basil, cilantro, mint, or sage makes for different flavor combinations. You can also add chili flakes or a little cayenne for some heat.
Use the butter immediately or wrap it in cling film or baking paper shaped into a log, and chill it before slicing. It can last a week in the fridge and a month in the freezer.