Olive oil is one the most versatile products we have in our kitchen. The only thing that can make it better is by adding garlic! Garlic has the ability to make any type of dish taste incredible, thanks to it’s salty, onion-y flavour profile that leaves you wanting more. You can use it by itself as a cooking oil, or as a central component of a salad dressing, pasta sauce or marinade. You can buy ready made garlic-infused olive oil at most major supermarkets, but we think you can have more fun and create nicer flavours by creating your own at home.
How To Make Garlic-Infused Olive Oil
It’s fairly simple to infuse any type of flavour into olive oil, but you do need a little bit of patience. The quickest way to infuse garlic into olive oil is to simmer your garlic cloves in the oil.
Step 1: Take fresh garlic cloves, peel them and then crush them with the back of a thick knife to release the flavour. Place the cloves into a pan.
Step 2: Pour enough olive oil into the pan to give it a thin coating, then sauté them over a medium heat for between 3 – 5 minutes. If the garlic starts to go brown around the edges, make sure to lower the heat, as you do not want to garlic to actually cook through yet, just sizzle.
Step 3: Add the remaining amount of olive oil that you want to infuse into the pan and turn the heat down to a lower setting. Wait until the oil begins to slightly bubble, then let the oil simmer at this level for around 20 minutes. This gives the garlic time to release it’s flavour to infuse into the oil. Again, make sure that the garlic is not starting to burn, if so, turn the heat down slightly.
Step 4: Turn off the heat to let the oil cool down, in order to become even more infused with the garlic. You will need to make sure that the oil is cold before straining as hot oil can burn your skin very easily!
Step 5: Take a fine sieve and strain the oil into an airtight bottle. The oil can now be stored in the fridge and kept for up to a week! It’s good to make frequent, small batches of infused oil, in order not to waste any that ultimately goes unused.
This process can be repeated if you want to infuse other ingredients into oil, from rosemary to cooked bacon!
Tasty Recipes
Garlic oils taste amazing when used in marinades, sauces and dressings, so we’ve compiled short list of recipes for you to test out your new homemade garlic-infused olive oil with!
Chicken Marinated in Garlic-Infused Olive Oil
Ingredients: chicken, garlic-infused olive oil, fresh parsley, whole lemons (sliced into thin rounds), salt and pepper.
Garlic and chicken is a classic combo of flavours, with the famous Chicken Kiev being the most obvious dish that comes to mind. This roast chicken recipe from Martha Stewart consists of only 6 basic ingredients and you don’t need to be a genius in the kitchen to be able to make it yourself! Serve the chicken with rosemary covered roast potatoes for a hearty evening meal, or with a side salad for a healthy, light lunch.
Find the full recipe at Martha Stewart.
Grilled Steak with Rosemary & Garlic Infused Olive Oil
Ingredients: skirt steak, rosemary and garlic-infused olive oil, rosemary, garlic cloves, lemon, fresh basil, fresh parsley, salt, pepper and lemon-infused olive oil.
If red meat is more your thing, then this grilled steak recipe will get your mouth watering… The best cut of meat to use for this is skirt steak, as this cut of meat has a lot of flavour and texture that is able to fully absorb marinades.
Find the original recipe at La Barre.
Honey & Garlic Salad Dressing
Ingredients: honey, garlic-infused olive oil, white wine vinegar, a pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper.
If you want to liven up your salads, then this honey-based salad dressing is what you need! Simply mix together your honey, salt and pepper in a jug. Then add the garlic-infused olive oil and white wine vinegar and whisk until it is well combined. Leave the fridge for 5 minutes before adding to your salad.
Find the original recipe at All Recipes.
Glass Oil Bottles
Here at Glass Bottles, we’ve got a fantastic range of glass bottles that are ideal for storing your homemade infused oils. Why not take a look at our range?
Liked this post? Then we think you’d also love to take a look at our other recent post about the history of pickling.