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MAKES ½ CUP

5 large chile peppers, or 10 small, seeded if you wish

¼ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar

3 large garlic cloves

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1-2 tablespoons water

Sea salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until liquefied.

Infused Oils

Infused oils can raise the complexity, and thereby the enjoyment, of the carrier oil by imbuing it with your favorite flavors. Many of the recipes in this book can be enhanced by substituting your own infused oil. We offer three versions here but, as you will see, they are but a few within a limitless list of possibilities. We offer instructions for the three most common methods. One method can be completed in thirty minutes; one method takes little time but has a week or so of infusion time; the third method is done in a jiffy but requires up to three weeks of infusion time. Experimentation will show you the differences.

ROASTED GARLIC-CHILE OIL

MAKES 2 CUPS

2 cups olive oil

1 heaping ¼ cup garlic cloves, roasted (see page 20)

1 hot red chile pepper (optional)

SUN-DRIED TOMATO-BASIL-ROSEMARY OIL

MAKES 2 CUPS

2 cups olive oil

1 cup chiffonaded basil

3 (4-inch) rosemary sprigs

6 thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes

TOASTED PEPPERCORN OIL

MAKES 2 CUPS

2 cups olive oil

2 tablespoons toasted black peppercorns (page 26)

1 tablespoon lemon zest (optional)

Tips and Tricks

Use thick oils. Thinner oils do not carry the flavor as well. Olive oil doesn’t spoil easily; use organic cold-pressed olive oil.

Method #1: Blend all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Refrigerate and use within a few weeks. You may or may not wish to strain out the ingredients using a fine-mesh bag or cheesecloth.

Method #2: Heat the olive oil until warm; it isn’t necessary that it be hot. Expose the flavor of the added ingredients by chopping or bruising the herbs and breaking open the spices a little bit. Pour the oil over the ingredients, seal, and allow the bottle to sit for a week before using. Refrigerate, and use the oil within a few weeks. Some people feel that this method releases the most flavor.

Method #3: Expose more of the flavor of the added ingredients by chopping or bruising the herbs, and breaking open the spices, and so on. Pour the oil over the ingredients, seal the bottle, and store at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. Refrigerate and use within a few weeks.

Tips to avoid spoilage:

• Sterilize your bottle by boiling it in water for 5 minutes and then leaving it in the sun to dry thoroughly.

• Make sure that everything going into the oil is dry. Water is the main culprit in spoilage. Lay things in the sunshine for at least 5 minutes to evaporate any moisture.

• Heating the oil along with the ingredients may reduce the water content.

• Eliminate any air in the bottle. Use glass bottles, add the flavor ingredients first, and cover completely to the top with oil (even if it is more or less than the recipe). Stir the oil to release any air bubbles within it.

• Label your bottles with the ingredients and date so that you remember how long it has been sitting out and what is inside of it.

• The oil will not prevent anything inside of it from molding; anything over 6 weeks old is likely to spoil. Refrigerate the oil when it is done infusing and only make batches that you will use within 3 to 4 weeks.

• Store all of the oils that contain garlic in the refrigerator when they are done infusing.

Variations

• Infuse coconut oil or agave nectar with vanilla beans and/or cinnamon sticks. Simply place one or two vanilla beans and up to 6 cinnamon sticks into 2 or more cups of coconut oil or agave nectar and allow them to infuse naturally. Coconut oil does go rancid more easily than olive oil, so only infuse what you think you will use within a few weeks. Use in baked goods or dessert sauces, or drizzle over a toasted