CHRISTMAS OILS PART 1: GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Homemade Christmas gifts are the best. Just by putting in a little bit of time and effort to prepare your own little prezzies can sometimes mean a lot more to most than a thoughtless last minutes present grab from the shop. Here is my first flavoured oil, garlic and rosemary and you can make enough for around 6 people just by taking an afternoon out to get your infusing on. Decant it into little fancy bottles which you can find cheap online, decorate with ribbon and labels and your recipients are going to adore it.

My oil is cloudy - don't sound the alarms, it's still OK. Apparently this may of been from slicing my garlic cloves so I'm going to advise you pop them in peeled yet whole to prevent this. I'm not sure if this is why but hey; it still tastes and smells delicious and anyway, it gives it a much more rustic look (that's how I'm justifying my error to myself anyway).

Morrison's do some amazing smoked garlic that I've mentioned in several of my recipes and I think it's absolutely gorgeous. I've used it here to add a smokiness to the oil too.  Take a look round other supermarkets, markets and specialist food stores too but if you can't find it then normal garlic will also be delicious. On your travels find the best looking sprigs of rosemary too. You want it to look pretty inside the bottle, especially if you oil comes out nice and clear!

Now I must mention the dangers of food poisoning. I won't be held responsible for any botulism that may incur after you have made this oil. THis recipe should stop that from happening but with any kind of food preperation sometimes thigns can go wrong so please take your time, be patient and don't take any shortcuts. Make sure your bootles are also sterilized and dry before filling them with the oil.

Disclaimer over, lets crack on;

Garlic and Rosemary Oil

1.5L Olive Oil

6 Large Peeled Garlic Cloves

12 Large Sprigs Of Rosemary

1. Place 300ml of the oil into a large pan along with the garlic cloves and heat the oil on a medium heat until the oil around the cloves begins to bubble.
2. Once you reach this point, fry them for around 3 minutesuntil the cloves just begin to brown. Don't rush this by heating the oil on a high heat or the garlic will just become bitter and nasty!
3. After the three minutes, carefully pour in the rest of the oil and heat further on a medium heat until the garlic begins to float on top of the oil and bubble.
4. Let the garlic bubble away for 5 minutes before removing the pan from the heat and placing in 6 of the rosemary sprigs. Leave the pan off the heat for around two hours until the oil has cooled completely.
5. Strain the oil to remove all the garlic (very important! It will go rancid in the bottles!) and rosemary and decant into whatever size sterilised bottles you have. Poke sprigs of the remaining rosemary into each bottle and seal.

Now I've read many bits of different information on storage. I think the official stance is to refrigerate and use within three weeks however I have also read that some people have kept there's in a cool dry place for around three months. These are your options the choice is yours to take. Your oil will be delicious for roasting potatoes in or for dressing pasta salads. 

 

Give them out to friends or keep for yourself, these herby bottles of goodness are an Xmas treat that everyone is going to love!