Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in last year’s BBC TV’s Masterchef  competition. Every Saturday Yemi will be writing on the Stray Ferret about her love of the district’s food  and sharing cooking tips – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

 

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Oil isn’t always at the forefront of our minds when we think about cooking, but it is an essential ingredient that can infuse flavours into our food. From caramelising onions and roasting peppers, to dressing salads and grilling vegetables, the right oil can elevate most dishes.

Chefs and restaurants have popularised infused oils, which are usually used to finish and dress dishes. For many home cooks, however, their idea of infused oils is to buy a jar of oil with dried chillies...

Herb oils are very simple to make; you just need a good blender, fresh herbs, and a neutral oil. Basil, parsley, dill, coriander and fennel tops all work well to give you a vibrant green oil that can make your dish stand out, whilst giving you a burst of freshness.

Firstly, wash and dry your fresh herbs and add to a blender with some oil. Then, blend until you reach a temperature of 65c and strain through a muslin cloth.

Spring onion oil

One of my favourite oils to make is spring onion oil -- it's delicious and versatile.

To make it, add sliced spring onions (1 – 2 bunches depending on size) to a medium-sized deep pan with a litre of oil and place over low heat. Leave it to simmer until the spring onions turn a pale green colour and become crispy. Then, turn off the heat and leave to infuse.

Once completely cooled, strain the oil through into a container and v-oil-a! This oil is perfect for making omelettes, roasting potatoes and veggies, cooking red sauces, drizzling on flatbread or making stir-fries.

I also make my spring onion mayonnaise and spring onion salad dressing using the infused oil.

Chilli oil

Another favourite oil is chilli oil and, again, it's super versatile.

To make it, you will need mustard seeds, crispy shallots, crispy garlic, chillies and fresh herbs.

First, make sure you have a clean jar, then finely slice some garlic, and set aside. In a heat proof bowl or pan, add a variety of chillies – I use Korean chilli flakes, Kashmiri chilli flakes, aleppo chilli and regular chilli flakes – with some yellow mustard seeds and a pinch of smoked sea salt.

Place another pot with some neutral oil over a medium heat and once it is hot, fry the sliced garlic until light golden in colour. Make sure to keep an eye on the garlic as it fries quickly and can burn. Remove as soon as it is crispy and the right colour, then set aside.

When the oil is very hot, remove from heat and pour over the chillies. Stir and leave for a few minutes before adding the crispy garlic slices, then finally into your jar.

Once you master this basic recipe, you can experiment. Sometimes I add a sprig of fresh rosemary or thyme to the jar, or grate in some ginger, before topping off with the hot oil.

The chilli oil is a perfect dressing for boiled potatoes as an alternative to roast potatoes. You can elevate your Christmas leftovers by using this oil to stir fry leftover meat and vegetables to make grilled sandwiches, wraps, pies, soups, boiled rice, noodle dishes – whatever works for you.

Flavours from around the world

The beauty of oil is that the recipes are truly endless and can easily draw on international flavours.

For a Mexican flavour, use ancho and chipotle chillies, and for Indian flavours use Kashmiri chilli and spices like cumin.

Some oils include soy sauce to lend themselves to Chinese dishes, while toasted sesame seed oil elevates a Japanese dish beautifully.

Ginger oil is perfect for pouring over steamed fish like sea bass, sea bream or whole snapper, as well as enhancing Thai-inspired dishes. To make this, add slices of ginger with skin on to a pan of oil and simmer gently until the flavours are infused.

I have a wide variety of oils in my cupboards, including red palm kernel oil from Nigeria, avocado oil and traditional olive oils. I’ve found our very own local oil -- Yorkshire rapeseed – is best for frying, due to its high boiling point, and makes a lovely golden mayonnaise.

All you need to do now is think about the version that tickles your fancy and get the ingredients to make it! All these oils take just minutes to make, so with a bit of planning, you can easily wow your guests.

Next week, I will be visiting Fodder, in Harrogate, so look out for my piece on that.

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Read more:

• Yemi’s Food Stories: A visit to the Harrogate pop-up Afghan Kitchen


• Yemi’s Food Stories: Exploring Harrogate with Yorkshire Appetite Food Tours

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