Easy Compound Butter

These compound butters are quick to make and stay spreadably soft right from the fridge.  The trick is to mix butter and olive oil with beautifully intense spice blends. No chopping, peeling or mincing – just mix and go.  Start with the combinations we have below and try your own favorites!  Check out our ongoing list of recipes that can be made with these compound butters.

Ingredients
Bombay – Bright and Floral Turmeric
2 sticks of butter, softened (1 cup)

½ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp Bombay blend

½ tsp fine sea salt

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The Bombay butter has warm and floral flavors or turmeric, fenugreek, and clove.  At La Boite we use alleppey turmeric with its deep, yellow color and richly sweet and lightly bitter finish.  Seasoned with a touch of salt, this butter is very versatile.  Try it on everything from toasted sourdough with curly shavings of avocado for a deluxe avocado toast to a quick and easy broiled tomato with fresh ricotta and oregano.  Add to a pan of brown sugar and apples roasting to caramelized perfection and spoon over ice cream, there are so many possibilities.

Shabazi – Herbs and Green Chili

2 sticks of butter, softened (1 cup)

½ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp Shabazi blend

½ tsp fine sea salt

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The Shabazi compound butter is a great all-around herb butter with the backbone of green chili.  It’s great for frying an egg, keeping on hand for a quick garlic bread, or slathering onto some fresh fish just before broiling.  During grilling season, try to resist a dollop of Shabazi butter slowly melting over a perfectly grilled steak or roasted mushrooms.

Cataluña – Smoked Paprika and Garlic

2 sticks of butter, softened (1 cup)

½ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp Cataluña blend

½ tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp granulated garlic

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The Cataluña butter is so good simply dripping through the crevices of a toasted English muffin. I love tossing it through freshly cooked pasta and finished with some fresh lemon and roughly chopped parsley.  For a quick appetizer or seafood entrée, starte the pan with a big dollop of Cataluña butter to gently cook some shrimp for a delicious, smokey shrimp scampi (a.k.a. gambas al ajillo) with plenty of saucy butter for dipping bread.

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Izak - Sweet Chili Honey Butter

2 sticks of butter, softened (1 cup)

½ cup olive oil

½ cup honey

2 Tbsp Izak blend

½ tsp fine sea salt

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The Izak compound butter is surprisingly versatile.  It goes well creeping through a creamy roasted sweet potato as well as stir frying some Sweet and Sour Chicken and Broccoli.

Directions

For each compound butter, measure the ingredients into a bowl as directed and mix well to combine.  Use right away or refrigerate to have the compound butter ready and waiting.

Recipe Notes

Depending on the ingredients, some compound butters get better the next day once the spices have had a chance to bloom and meld.

See our running list of recipes that use the compound butters in simple, spreadable ways as well as part of an enhanced cooking steps like frying runny eggs, toasting quick garlic bread, or even using for a honey butter sweet and sour stir fry!

Questions?  Contact  helen@laboiteny.com