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Compound butter is simply butter that’s been mixed with flavourings, both sweet and savoury, and is a tasty and easy way to give a small bunch of tired herbs new life. It can be melted over vegetables, stirred through pasta, grains or pulses, basted over meat or fish, spread on toast, or frozen in slices to use a little at a time. Think of this less as a recipe and more as a framework: taste as you go and decide whether you want something bold and explosive or a more gentle experience.
Wilted green herb compound butter
Long before the TikTok revival, compound butter was something most home cooks admired on restaurant plates rather than made themselves. But it’s a really simple way to save a few tired herbs and give a meal a welcome boost, adding both serious flavour and visual impact.
Butter is the perfect vehicle for fat-soluble aromatic compounds from herbs, spices, citrus zest and other ingredients, because it concentrates them within the fat. Once melted, that flavoured butter coats food evenly, delivering a rich, rounded intensity in every bite and coating the tongue with a lingering flavour.
I like to flavour my compound butter with between 10% and 20% each of fresh herbs and/or spices, though obviously that varies depending on how intense or subtle I want the flavour to be. I’ve written this recipe for a 100g block of butter, because that’s an easy amount to make (and to calculate percentages from!), but by all means make less or more to suit your tastes and requirements.
When I was making this at home, I had a lot of dill and parsley, plus, believe it or not, a preserved truffle that my mum had brought me back from Italy as a gift and that needed using up. It was so delicious on our steak, but also worked with the fish and steamed greens we had the following day.
Makes 4-6 servings
100g softened butter, salted or unsalted
10-20g fresh herbs (parsley, coriander, chives, dill, basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, mint, or a mixture), to taste, leaves and soft stalks finely chopped
10-20g spices or spice blends (ground cumin, coriander, paprika, smoked paprika, chilli flakes, curry powder, ras el hanout, garam masala, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns; if using whole spices, lightly toast them first, then crush, to taste
1 pinch to 2g sea salt (fine, coarse or flaky; optional, and to taste)
In a bowl, beat the soft butter with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Add your chosen finely chopped fresh herbs to taste, then work in the optional spices, if using – put on your chef hat on and think about what will go well together. I like to add a little coarse or flaky sea salt to the mix, too, so you get an explosion of flavour when you taste it: if using salted butter, just a pinch will do; for unsalted butter, you’ll need about a third of a teaspoon, or 2g.
Spoon the butter on to a sheet of greaseproof paper, roll into a log, twist the ends and chill until firm (alternatively, pack the flavoured butter into a small container). It will now keep in the fridge for two days, or three months in the freezer (freeze in ready-cut portion sizes for ease of use). Do not keep for longer to ensure good food safety.
