Garlic butter

Loved and hated in equal measure, garlic is the ideal companion to add to butter to create a dressing full of flavor, the kind that takes your breath away. Making a delicious garlic butter is as simple as it is rewarding in its results. You’ll see it’s made almost without mess and in no time you’ll have turned good butter into a special ingredient that will elevate your dishes and bring you much joy. For you and your guests!

You can make plain garlic butter, or also flavor it with a touch of herbs. The process is exactly the same; you’ll see how to add them if you feel like making garlic and parsley butter or garlic and rosemary butter. The result is extremely delicious, and it will transform your fish and meats, as well as a simple piece of bread, into food fit for the gods.

What is garlic butter

Garlic butter is butter to which crushed or chopped garlic is added to flavor and aromatize it. It usually also contains finely chopped parsley. The traditional recipe is made with raw garlic and fresh parsley (although dried parsley can also be used), but personally I love making it with roasted garlic.

The flavor is completely different: mild and with that smoky, slightly sweet, almost caramelized note that roasted garlic has. Additionally, they acquire a creamy texture, making them much easier to incorporate and blend into the butter.

How to use garlic butter

Once you have it made, you can store it in an airtight container and it will keep wonderfully in the fridge (and in the freezer!); that way it will be ready whenever you want to use it. For this, Luigi Bormioli glass jars are ideal.

And if making garlic butter is very straightforward, using it is even easier. You’ll be able to enjoy it as is and also use it to finish some of your dishes. Here are some options, but you’ll surely think of many more once you start using it:

• It’s delicious spread on a slice of bread at breakfast, just as you would with your regular butter.
• To accompany toasts or crispbreads at your snack dinners it’s a fantastic option. Either on its own or as a base to place, for example, a bit of smoked cod.
• You’ve surely tried garlic bread. With your garlic butter you only need to spread a few slices of day-old bread and bake them while you have the oven on. In this very simple way you’ll make garlic bread at home as tasty as the best pizzeria’s.
• For cooking with it. Garlic butter is an ingredient that will give you lots of possibilities to flavor meats, fish and vegetables:
• Use it instead of oil to sear some beef tenderloins on your grill or cast-iron skillet.
• Also in your nonstick pan with some hake fillets. Just when you see the butter has melted and begins to bubble, place the fish to soak it up and let it cook to doneness.
• It’s ideal for sautéing mushrooms, or onion rings.
• And also for roasting vegetables: both carrots or corn on the cob, for example, and potatoes. If you want to prepare the latter in the hasselback style, spread the garlic butter on the outside, place a bit more of the same butter on each potato and bake.
• To cook some prawns or king prawns on the griddle, replace the oil with garlic butter and you'll see what a delicious touch it gives them.
• To add to your vegetable soups and purées. Just before blending, add a chunk of garlic butter to mashed potatoes or any vegetable cream to enhance its flavor.
• Or, in a very simple way, to accompany freshly cooked pasta. Once you plate the pasta, without letting it cool, place some pieces of garlic butter on top, stir so it melts, and enjoy!

How to make garlic butter

You’ve already seen that with garlic butter it’s all advantages. Whether you prepare it with raw garlic or roasted garlic, it’s easy to make, practical to store and very versatile. And since I’m sure you’re eager to make it, here’s the recipe for garlic butter with roasted garlic.

Ingredients

• 250 g butter at room temperature
• 1 head of roasted garlic* (less if using raw garlic, see note)
• A pinch of salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped Rosemary or Parsley (optional)

*NOTE: We prefer to use roasted garlic because it further improves the flavor of the resulting butter (making it less sharp and giving it a very unique special touch), but you can use raw garlic. If you want to make the traditional recipe with raw garlic, slightly reduce the amount of garlic. Estimate about 3 cloves of garlic per 100 grams of butter. If you notice they are not excessively pungent, add a couple more. If using raw garlic, skip directly to step 2 of the preparation.

Preparation

1. First, we need to roast the garlic; here you can see how to do it. If you already have it roasted, take it out of the jar and let all the oil drain at room temperature.
2. Mash or crush the garlic cloves until they become a paste.
3. Place the butter at room temperature in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and a little freshly ground black pepper, and beat well with a wooden spoon to mix and give the butter a creamy texture. You can also do this with a hand mixer or with a KitchenAid using the paddle attachment.
4. Add the paste you made with the roasted garlic cloves and mix well until everything is combined.
5. If you add the chopped parsley, add it at the end and stir to mix and integrate.
6. Put the butter in a jar for storage. Use a silicone spatula to help and not lose a bit of this delicious preparation.

Notes

• You can use store-bought butter or make it at home. It’s very simple! If you fancy it, here you’ll see how to make it and also how to flavor it.
• Garlic butter allows endless variations by simply changing the seasonings. Replace the parsley with herbes de Provence, oregano, thyme, sweet or hot paprika, mixed peppercorns or curry. One of the most delicious I’ve tried is rosemary and basil. You’ll find the recipe here.
• In any garlic butter recipe we can vary the amount of garlic to our taste, but it’s important to consider that the high fat content of the butter conditions the final flavor. Some of the garlic’s aromatic molecules, the most volatile ones, are retained by the fat and are not tasted. One could say we lose them. So, if we significantly reduce the garlic we add, the butter will be lightly flavored, but won’t provide that extra boost we want to give our dishes with it.
• It is precisely that high fat content of the butter that allows it to be preserved for several days. Ideally prepare what you will use within a week. If you want to make more, you have the option of freezing it; in this way it will last much longer (around 2 months) or vacuum sealing it and storing it in the fridge or freezer.
• With all these options you can prepare a varied board of savory butters to accompany cheeses, cold cuts and smoked items. You will surprise your guests!