Asiago & Parmesan Herbed Oil
I often find that I have a small hunk of Parmesan left in the cheese drawer of the fridge. And, lately, I’ve been using that leftover hunk in this Cheese and Herbed Oil.
The cheese can be any kind you have – a little Cheddar, some Parm, Romano. But, I recommend sticking to the harder cheeses rather than going with a soft cheese like brie or blue cheese in this.
The herbs can be whatever you like, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, sage, etc. If you use fresh herbs you’ll need to use the mixture within a couple of days, as it can go bad. If you only use dried herbs, you have a little longer to use it, but I’d still recommend using it within a couple of weeks. The mixture can also be frozen into small potions for longer storage. Try using ice cube trays or silicon mini muffin pans for freezing in small portions. Then, take it out of the freezer as needed.
I’ve used this for all kinds of goodies!
I’ve topped zucchini with it and placed them under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese browns on top. For the cheese topped zucchini, I mostly used the herbs and the cheese, draining them out of the oil.
I’ve used the cheese to top fish, basically the same as process as the zucchini.
I’ve used the oil to saute things (draining out the cheese).
I’ve topped slices of bread, and broiled them to make an open face grilled cheese.
Simply dip crackers or toasted bread into the spread. Drop a frozen cheese & oil cube into a batch of soup. Top plain pasta with some herbed cheese oil. It would also be great to give as a gift. It’s really a flexible way to use some leftovers. Let your imagination run wild.
breaking the cheese into crumbles, step 1: Pierce a small portion with the sharp point of the knife. Don’t Break all the way through the cheese chunk.
breaking the cheese into crumbles, step 2: With the knife still in the cheese, tilt the knife so the cheese breaks off of the chunk. This way you get an uneven edge making your crumbles less uniform and prettier.
breaking the cheese into crumbles, step 3: Once you break the small chunk off of the hunk o’ cheese, pick it up with your clean fingers, and smash it into smaller pea sized pieces as needed. If the cheese is at room temperature, it’ll break apart fairly easily without much work on your part.
Asiago & Parmesan Herbed Oil Recipe
Asiago & Parmesan Herbed Oil
Ingredients
- 1-2 ounces Asiago at room temperature
- 1-2 ounces Parmesan at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Break the cheese into small chunks (see photos below for detailed instructions on getting small crumbles). Then, using your fingers, crumble the cheese into small pea-sized chunks. Place the chunks into a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
- Place basil, thyme, rosemary and oregano in the jar. Pour olive oil into bottle, just enough to cover the cheese and herbs. Cover tightly, and shake gently to mix the cheese and herbs together. Refrigerate unused portions. Use within 2 to 3 days.
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Debi,
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday this week. I can’t wait to see what you link up next. Have a great weekend.
Michelle
This looks so good, I can’t wait to try it out.
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it.
I would love it if you would share this at my new Smart Solutions linky party.
Have a great day!
Thank you for sharing this at the Untamed Cook. I love it!!!!
Thank you for this great recipe/tip on what to do with that bit of hard cheeses that you know will probably never be used. I love herbed oils and the like.