Rosemary and basil butter

I love culinary herbs; I use them for almost everything in the kitchen. Some, like basil, I can't get year-round, while others I always have available in a pot... like rosemary.

In general, culinary herbs are usually sold in trays that contain more than we'll need. Many times, just like with bunches of parsley, the herbs end up spoiling inside the refrigerator.

When this happens to me I chop them, drizzle them with oil, place them in an ice cube tray and freeze them, but recently I thought of making flavored butter and keeping it to add to stews, or to serve with an appetizer. It's a great solution and if we have a vacuum sealer they can last a very long time.

Herb grinder 2.0, Set of 4 stainless steel bowls and Pallarès stainless steel knife with olive wood handle.

Ingredients:

• 500 g butter*
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Or any other herb

*See the end of the post for how to make butter at home

Preparation:

1. Leave the butter at room temperature until it is very soft.
2. Divide the amount into two parts.
3. With a spice grinder we grind the basil and rosemary and set them aside in separate bowls.
4. Place the paddle attachment on the Kitchen Aid, add one portion of butter and the chopped rosemary in the amount you prefer, but not too much.
5. Mix on speed 6 and with a spatula place the mixture on cling film.
6. Roll it up and put it in the refrigerator to harden.
7. Repeat the process with the basil.
8. If we are not going to use it soon we can vacuum-seal the butters and keep them available for much longer.

Herb grinder 2.0, Set of 4 stainless steel bowls, Pallarès carbon steel kitchen knife with boxwood handle and Tefal vacuum sealer

Sliced into rounds they are also ideal to serve alongside bread at the table when we have guests. It's a little thoughtful touch that is sure to surprise and make you look great. Do you know the difference between serving a buttered toast with salmon and doing it with flavored butter?

How to make homemade butter

There is nothing easier to make than butter. What do you need? Liquid cream 35% fat and beat it and beat it until it breaks. How? Like this: if you beat the liquid cream you will make whipped cream (yes, that delicious one), and if you keep beating there will be a moment when you see the whey separate (a liquid appears), and the mass remains in clumps. You've just made butter. For that I must admit that the KitchenAid is a great ally, because you only need to put the cream in the mixer bowl and turn it on to do all the work.

Strain it to remove the liquid and, with the help of a spatula, gather the pieces of butter to form a block. Then, with the help of cling film, you can wrap it while pressing so it takes a roll shape.

At this point you could refrigerate it, although it's also a good time to return it to the KitchenAid bowl and mix it with the herbs as I told you in the recipe above (with the first step already completed).