If you use olive oil, once defrosted these cubes add a quick boost of flavour to any vinaigrette and are great for bread-dipping.Tad Seaborn/The Globe and Mail
I recently bought a bunch of fresh basil at the market, both to support my internal optimism (herbs and spring!) and to add a few leaves to my salad. But what to do with the rest of it? I didn't have quite enough for pesto, but it was a bit too much for immediate use. I decided to freeze it and came upon a simple way to make fresh herbs available at the drop of an ice cube tray.
This may be old hat for some, but I had never frozen my herbs in olive oil or butter. You can throw a cube into your skillet as needed for sautéeing, or thaw and add to freshly cooked pasta for a simple, delicious weeknight meal. If you use olive oil, once defrosted these cubes add a quick boost of flavour to any vinaigrette and are great for bread-dipping.
Herb and olive oil cubes
basil (or any fresh, leafy herb)
1 tbs. olive oil or melted butter
Method
Rinse and dry your ice-cube tray. Wash, rinse and dry your basil (or any fresh, leafy herb) well.
Chop the basil into small pieces. I like to use the chiffonade method, rolling a few leaves into a cigar shape and then slicing to create thin ribbons. You can go over the ribbons a couple times with the knife to make them even smaller, but don’t overdo it or you’ll bruise the leaves.
Fill each ice cube compartment with 1 tablespoon olive oil or melted butter and then add enough basil to fill it to 3/4 full (about 1 lightly packed tablespoon). Top up with a drizzle of oil if needed. Freeze. To release the cubes, run the base of the tray very quickly under hot water.
Sue Riedl