Chili Garlic Compound Butter + Spices & Spreads Class!

Compound butters… the essence of simplicity and versatility! Depending on what you put in them, they can jazz up any cut of meat or fish or give a major upgrade to your morning toast (cinnamon maple butter, anyone?). Compound butters can be as simple as mincing a few herbs or zesting some lemons, or you can up the ante. CGB is what I named the compound butter I’m teaching in my next class. Here’s a recipe for something very similar, incorporating corn INTO the butter.

Photo Credit: Kristin Hong at The Fresh Find

Both the butters wake up your palate, but they are also made healthy with the addition of healing spices. Chili (capsaicin), turmeric (curcumin), and fresh garlic (allicin) spread atop fish packed with omega-3 fatty acids is a delectable way to have your food also be your medicine! Here are some other of my favorite ways to use the spread that has become one of my staples.

1. Melt a few tablespoons of CGB in a large pot.  Add 1/4 cup popcorn kernels.  Cover with lid.  Await the popping.  (Kids love this startle of a kernel flying out of a pot!) Sit down with big bowl of CGB popcorn and start a Bollywood movie like Jab We Met.
2. Roast some simply seasoned salmon. Dollop salmon with a 1 inch slice of CGB that has been previously frozen and partially thawed.  The butter will ooze onto the hot fillet.   Serve with beautiful assortment of side dishes like broiled rapini or buttered carrots with slivers of ginger and sprinkles of dried chillies.
3. Slather on just-grilled or boiled corn-on-the-cob.  You can’t go wrong with this one.
4. Use CGB as a starting point for any dish where you would mix in butter or use it to saute (savory recipes only please!). For example: scrambled eggs, buttered noodles or pasta, brussels sprouts, etc…
5. Roux for mac and cheese. Though, the mac and cheese would turn out orange perhaps. I wonder what this kind of butter would do in a gumbo roux…

This is clearly one of my staples for a reason!

I’ll be showcasing how to make this compound butter and other spices and spreads to make in your own kitchen at the Spices and Spreads class on November 9th. We’ll be making Tomato Chutney, Chili Garlic Compound Butter, Chai Masala Mix, Garam Masala Mix and Golden Milk Masala, and you’ll be able to take your spices and spreads home to cook up some Indian meals with deliciously complex flavors. Sign up and learn all about spices and spreads at the gorgeous Kettle & Brine shop in November!