Monday, 12 July 2010

Butter together.....

Everything seems to be flowering in the allotment at the moment. The bees and ladybirds are having a field day.....



The sweet peas have all come at once. They threatened death a few weeks ago but they seem happy enough climbing up the chicken wire with flowers the colour of confetti.
It's the herbs that I've been enjoying the most. Chive flowers sprinkled in cheese salads, borage over smoked salmon, thyme flowers over a lamb chop. This year I'm going to try and make the most of the herb garden, drying, freezing and preserving. Bunches of rosemary are already hanging in the greenhouse and jars of bay leaves are filling the cupboards for warming bowls of wintery Italian pasta. Mint always has me stumped. Once the apples are ready I'll make some jars of mint and apple jelly but for now all I can make is lots of tiny pots of herby butter.....

Mint and Chive Butter.......(Makes 15 of so small portions)

4oz/125g room temperature butter
1handful chives
2 handfuls mint leaves
salt and pepper

Mash the butter with the back of a fork. Chop the herbs as finely as you can...



Use the fork to mash the herbs and the butter together along with some salt and pepper.

Scoop into little bowls or ice cream tubs and freeze. Use over a steaming bowl of hot peas or in foil parcels of salmon or pollack.

4 comments:

  1. what am excellent, simple idea... I will be plagiarising immediately!
    x

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  2. Glad you like it Dominic. We're having them tonight on jacket potatoes with lamb chops!

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  3. Brilliant idea - every year I think I ought to do something with my herbs. Chives and mint are the most difficult, so you've sorted that one out nicely. Thank you.

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  4. Thanks Choclette. Good luck with it...I'm going to make some yarg scones using the butter when I get home from my holidays! xxxx

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