Flavored oils: give a different touch to your dishes

Preparation

1. It is preferable to use fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil...), although if this is not possible we will use them dry. The proportion is usually 10 branches of the herb in question per half liter of oil, although it depends on how intense you want it. In the case of fresh herbs, especially if they are from the field and have a lot of sand, we wash them under the tap, but we will have to let them be perfectly dry.

2. We break the herbs with our hands and put them in a clean glass bottle or jar to which we add a little salt. It is usual to add white peppercorns, which are added without crushing.

3. To make chilli oil, with 20 units for half a liter of oil we obtain a fairly intense oil and it is not necessary to crush them. If we want a garlic oil, with 10 lightly crushed cloves we will obtain a great result.

4. In all cases, we pour the extra virgin olive oil, ensuring that the oil covers the herbs. The oil has to be about 2-3 cm above the herbs.

5. We cover the bottle and let it macerate for at least 15 days in a dark and cool place (like a cupboard), but never in a refrigerator.

6. When it is going to be used, the herbs can be strained or not, but it is very decorative to place a sprig of the herb that has been used in its preparation. However, the maceration is preferable to do with the crushed or crushed herbs.