Infusions

I'm a busy girl.  I've got a full-time job, plus three hours of commuting a day.  I'm currently in the process of moving to a new apartment.  I've got a social life--a nerdy, nerdy social life.  I get tired.  So, much as I love to cook, an elaborate meal isn't always in the cards.

But then there are the times when, exhausted as I am, my friends and I simply aren't up for restaurant-hunting.  So it was on a recent Saturday night.  Six hungry, work-weary nerds, gathered around a dining room table in someone's post-collegiate pad, trying to formulate a satisfying and minimal-effort meal.  At that point I reached into my bag o' culinary tricks and pulled out one of the simplest, most satisfying show-offs I know: infused oil.

You know those little bowls of olive oil and herbs at Italian restaurants, fragrant and pungent and irresistible, just begging to be sopped up with a heel (or two or three) of warm bread?  Or the expensive-looking bottles of oil at the grocery store, with cloves of garlic and sprigs of rosemary oh-so-elegantly suspended within?  Infusions like these are stunningly simple to recreate at home.  I mean, stunningly.

There are a variety of techniques for doing this, from blending and straining to just plunking some aromatics into a bottle of oil and letting them steep for a week or two.  But my preferred method is hot infusion--applying just the barest amount of heat and warming the oil gently for five or ten minutes, then letting it cool.  I like to lightly crush garlic cloves and fresh herbs before infusing, to help the process along; spices, on the other hand, work best if left whole.

I'm constantly experimenting with ways to use these oils.  Olive oil infused with garlic and Italian herbs is a natural pair with bread, of course, and that's how we consumed most of it that night at dinner.  But I also stirred some into a batch of mashed potatoes, for an added kick.  For Thanksgiving, I coat sweet potato rounds in sage oil and bake them; it's a rousing hit every year.  And my family now makes infused oil almost every time we grill, to brush onto chicken, fish and vegetables.  Any recipe that calls for a touch of added flavor at the end, or a very minimal amount of added cooking, is an ideal venue for infused oil.

The recipe below is for a particular favorite of mine, a classic: rosemary-garlic olive oil.  But you can swap out any of the aromatics as you like.  And infusion isn't just limited to olive oil--the New York Times's Mark Bittman, aka the Minimalist, has a recipe for a spicy red-chili peanut oil that I'm dying to try.

Rosemary-Garlic Olive Oil
1/2 cup olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
2-3 large rosemary sprigs, lightly crushed
Pinch of red chili flake (optional)

Put your smallest saucepan on your smallest burner, and turn the heat to low.  Add all ingredients and warm gently, letting the oil barely bubble but not sizzle, for 5 or 10 minutes (or until it becomes incredibly fragrant).  Remove from heat and let cool, leaving the aromatics in the oil.*

*I sometimes eat the garlic cloves right out of the pot when no one's looking.  Don't judge.