Author Notes
I have a little patch with many herbs and others I pick in the forest behing my house. If you went in my cellar you would think I am crazy - I have all kinds of herbs and bay leaf hanging from the ceiling, not to mention my collection of spices and peppers. This is the olive oil I made with my very own Tuscan herbs dried at home. I suggest using small bottles for infused oils, more or less 250ml. —Maria Teresa Jorge
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Ingredients
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500 milliliters
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
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2 sprigs
fresh rosemary
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6 sprigs
fresh thyme
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4
fresh sage leaves
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2
bay leaves - dry
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10
coriander seeds
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1 teaspoon
pink peppercorns
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1 teaspoon
green peppercorns
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1 teaspoon
black peppercorns
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1 teaspoon
white peppercorns
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1
small fresh garlic, green inside part removed
Directions
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To make the herb bundles: Measure the height of your bottle and make the bouquet more or less 3/4 of the height of the inside part. Make a little bouquet with one sprig of rosemary, 3 of thyme, 2 sage leaves with stem and one bay leaf with stem. Hold together at the bottom and wrap kitchen string 3 or 4 times around the area that has more leaves, leaving the dry stems below. Make sure the sage and bay leaf are secured. Make a tight knot. Cut the ends of the string and trim the bottom of the bouquet. So now you have the bouquet with a lot of leaves at the top and a very small stem which makes it much prettier because the bouquet sinks and you have the bouquet starting right from the bottom.
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Very gently push the bouquet through the bottle neck being careful not to crush the dry bay leaf. You will see that the bouquet kind of opens up inside the bottle due to the fact that the string is right at the base.
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Add half of each of the peppers and half the coriander seeds to each bottle, a garlic and fill with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Put the top on and allow to infuse for 2 weeks before using.
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Feel free to add or take herbs and spices to your liking. This is the typical Tuscan bouquet but the variety of infusions is as big as your immagination!
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