Herb Compound Butter - Food Waste Trick

Ever get mad about the leftover herbs after purchasing a bunch to only use 2 teaspoons in a recipe? Or do you grow herbs and find that you are having extra when it comes time to prune? Those herbs do not need to go to waste. It takes minutes to turn leftover herbs into a flavorful compound butter that can be used on anything from vegetables to a baked potato. What is compound butter you ask? It is the process of softening and flavoring butter with herbs or spices. By mixing herbs with butter, you can preserve their freshness for up to a week longer than they would have lasted.

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Herb Compound Butter

Ingredients:

Chopped Fresh Herbs (like sage, rosemary, basil, thyme, or parsley)

Salted or Unsalted Butter*

Optional Additional Add-ins: Salt, citrus zest and or juice, dried spices, etc.

*We prefer Miyoko's Cultured Vegan Salted butter for its beautiful flavor, but most butters will work.

The amount of butter you create may depend on the amount of herbs you have leftover or what you plan on doing with it.

• Mildly flavored butter - 1 teaspoon of chopped herbs per 2 tablespoons of butter.

• More strongly flavored butter - 1 teaspoon herbs per tablespoon of butter.

Once you have decided how much butter you will make, then you want it softened. Either leave it out for 20-30 minutes to start to soften, or microwave it for 10 seconds.

Once the butter is softened enough to spread, mix in your herbs and any additional flavor enhancers.

Wrap in parchment paper before twisting the ends to compact the butter into a log. Then chill until firm.

Suggested Combination - We used sage, lemon zest, and a squeeze of lemon juice.