I first made this oil when my IRishman was struggling with IBS to help with his symptoms. And while it is a brilliant anti-inflammatory condiment, the real reason I’ve been making it is because it’s just so damn delicious. On eggs. On veggies. With fish. Wish chicken, With tacos. You name it, this oil adds an exotic warmth to pretty much everything.
The only thing is the colour is a radioactive yellow. We’re talking 1980’s fluro. And it stains everything. The table. A certain Irishman’s chin (which Finbarello finds hillarious… ‘Dadda you’ve got a yellow chin’). Actually it’s worth making just so you can laugh about the mess.
Ooh and.. I love eating the leftover cooked ginger / turmeric pulp. It’s adelicious condiment I add as a little side to my abundance bowl lunches. So yum!
Turmeric & Ginger Oil
Ingredients
- 75 g fresh turmeric grated
- 100 g ginger grated
- 1.5 cups extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place turmeric, ginger oil and pepper in a small saucepan. Simmer over a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the ginger and turmeric have softened.
- Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
- Strain the oil to remove the turmeric and ginger solids (keep these to eat separately). Store the oil in a well labelled glass bottle in your pantry (or keep it on the dining table for easy access). Keeps indefinitely. And keep the leftover pulp in the fridge for up to a month.
Variations & Substitutions
No turmeric – use 1-2 tablespoons ground dried turmeric. Or skip the turmeric and make a ginger oil.
garlicy – add 2-3 finely sliced garlic cloves.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
Prepare Ahead
A must! Oil will keep in the pantry indefinitely and the pulp in the fridge for up to a month (or until it starts growing mould).
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
Hi Jules,
So here’s a dumb rookie question. How do you handle the ginger? Do you need to peel it before grating it? I just trimmed off the rough scaly ends and grated the rest without peeling. A mistake, I fear. My finished product is not day-glow yellow, rather a fairly dark mud brown.
Also, is that measurement 3.5 oz by weight or volume? I weighed the piece of ginger that I had, 2 oz. But grated it made a big double handful. Seemed like a lot. No fresh turmeric so I used 1 tbl. of dry ground turmeric. I think that accounts for the 1/2 inch of yellowish sediment in the bottom of the jar.
Excellent questions Wally! I generally chop off any yucky bits on the outside of the ginger but don’t peel it religiously. I think your lack of vibrant colour is from using dried turmeric vs fresh. And yes whenever I give Oz it’s always weight. How does it taste?
Thanks, sounds like I was doing the right thing with the ginger then. After standing over night it is clarifying as the sediment settles out. I’ll give it a few days and then pour off carefully into a clean bottle. A thin coating on a spoon does look bright yellow. Taste: a bit oily (well duhh!) but the bright ginger and turmeric definitely shine through. Interesting stuff. Next time I’ll splurge for a better grade of olive oil.
You know, all the craziness and economic chaos around the pandemic couldn’t keep spring from coming here on the North side of the world. This morning I put out the first couple of hummingbird feeders. Now, after lunch, the birds are out there zooming around the feeders and garden, where the first little red flowers are out on the sage.
Cheers,
Wally
Yes it’s nice that nature keeps doing her thing Wally!