A new recipe encourages home cooks to transform kitchen scraps into infused oil, reducing waste while adding flavour to dishes. The idea originated from using garlic skins and herb leftovers, which contain surprising amounts of taste. The infused oil can be drizzled over carpaccio, pasta, or salad, used for marinating meat, fish, or vegetables, or simply as a dip for sourdough bread.
Popular flavour combinations include lemon rind, garlic skin, and rosemary; star anise, cacao, and orange rind; or makrut lime leaf, lemongrass husk, and coriander stems. However, these freshly infused oils are not suitable for long storage and should be used within one to two days.
The recipe is flexible, encouraging creativity with whatever scraps are on hand. For example, a two-year-old jar of chillies, clementine rinds, and long pepper can be combined to create an aromatic oil. The process involves gently heating the scraps in extra-virgin olive oil for about 15 minutes, then cooling and decanting into a clean bottle or jar. The oil can be refrigerated for up to two days or frozen for up to three months, but should not be kept longer due to safety concerns.
