I love my bread with any dish and I also like to have butter with a good meal. After talking for years that butter is bad for you and you should eat other fat I got back to “yes my butter is good” but all in small portions. To create little portions I smear the butter (when still soft) in a ice cube tray which I got from IKEA and creates those little hearts. Each hearts is one Tbsp so i can control how much butter I eat. I serve those with my prime rib, steaks or chicken breast. You also can use it for cooking but read more below.
For one ice cube tray or a cup you need:
Ingredients
- 1 !/2 stick butter, unsalted, soften
- 1 Tsp. Herb Salt or Flor de Sal of any other Sea Salt
- 1 Tsp. Black pepper
- 1/4 Tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1/8 cup fresh parsley
- 1/8 cup fresh chives
Directions
- First make sure your butter is soften but not melted. If I use frozen or very cold butter (yeah I forgot to place it outside my fridge and have then to use this trick) microwave it for 15 sec and test it again. Make sure the butter is soft and spreadable but NOT melted. If it melts the butterfat and the water in the butter separate. You will get at some point clarified butter and it changes slightly the color (to a yellow) and the taste. You do not want this for the herb butter.
- Chop the herbs as fine as possible with a knife. Make sure to break up all the aromatics. You could add other aromatics like thyme, rosemary for variations. See below for more ideas.
- Combine the butter, salt, pepper, garlic and the herbs in a large bowl and mix it well.
- Smear the butter in a ice cube tray or in a nice porcelain cub and freeze for at least 3 hours.
- Place outside 15 min before serving.
This is so simple and can perfectly be served with dinner rolls, prime rib or a chicken thigh. Why the use of the herb salt and where can i find this? I usually bring it back from Germany but you cal also find it online on amazon.com or other shops. If you need help in finding it let me know. It is a organic sea salt with different herbs which adds some additional flavor. I use it for a lot off different dishes. If you can’t find it you still can use regular sea salt.
Some ideas for variation (all for 1 1/2 sticks butter)
1. Mediterranean herbs: 1/16 cup of chopped Parsley, Thyme, Rosemary and Oregano and 1 Tsp. Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper
2. Sherry Steak: 1 Tbsp. Pink Peppercorns (grinded or use a mortar), 2 Tbsp. dry Sherry and 1/4 cup chopped Parsley and Sea Salt
3. Ramson: This might be a bit harder to find but Ramson is a great herb for butter. Use 3/4 Cup chopped Ramson and 2 Tbsp. Herb Salt
4. Italian: 1/4 cup Parsley, 1/4 cup Parmesan (grinded super fine, 1/4 chopped dried tomatoes (in oil) with 1 Tbsp. Herb Salt
Those are just some variations. I also like to use the butter above to create a crust for meat. I just add cheese (Parmesan grated, 1/2 cup) and panko bread crumbs (3/4 cup) to it and put it on a almost done steak, chicken breast or pork tenderloin and let it grill in the oven for a few minutes.
Enjoy!
Natalie
XoXo
