Butter improves the flavor of almost all ingredients from veggies to meats. Just a single tablespoon of butter, however, adds one hundred calories to your meal. If you like to drown your meal in butter, these extra calories can quickly add up. You can reduce the amount of butter you need to use, without sacrificing flavor, by making compound butter. The resulting mixture imparts additional flavor to your dishes alongside the tantalizing taste of butter. Here are three amazing compound butter recipes to try today.
Roasted Garlic
- 4 Elephant garlic cloves
- 1 Teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Cup butter
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Cut the root end of the elephant garlic to expose the cloves. Pour the olive oil on the cut end to saturate the cloves inside. Sprinkle sea salt on top and wrap the entire bulb in a layer of aluminum foil. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 35 minutes and let cool.
Once the garlic feels cool to the touch, whip the cup of butter until it looks light and airy. Slice up four garlic cloves and fold them into the butter mixture to create the compound flavors. You can also add any herbs you desire to this butter base to create your own flavor profile.
Ripe Avocado
- 1 Cup butter
- 1 Ripe avocado
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Teaspoon pepper
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1 Teaspoon cumin
- 1 Teaspoon garlic
The avocado butter actually imparts a lot of the flavors found in guacamole due to the spice mixture used in this recipe. You will want to start the process by scooping the flesh out of the avocado and mashing with a potato masher or food processor. Mix in the salt, pepper, cumin, garlic and lime juice until combined and smooth. Whip up the butter and fold the avocado mixture inside.
Blue Cheese
- 1 Cup butter
- 1 Teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 Cup blue cheese
Blue cheese has a sharp, rich flavor that blends well with creamy butter. Make sure to whip the butter thoroughly before attempting to blend in the blue cheese. Stir in the black pepper and salt next until well combined. At this point, you can either whip the blue cheese with a food processor to eliminate chunks or keep it chunky by folding it in.
Once you mix up your compound butter, place it on a sheet of wax paper. Fold the paper over itself and roll the mixture into a thick log. Twist up the ends of the wax paper and store the butter in the fridge. The refrigerated mixture should last at least two weeks while stored tightly wrapped. If you want the butter to last even longer, yet remain easily accessible, cut the butter into portions after it has firmed up in the fridge. Place the discs in a freezer bag, store in the freezer and just pull out the amount you need for each meal.
