If you’re looking to add a nice flavor profile along with a huge touch of color to your plate my go to right now are herb oils.  It’s really easy to do.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and have a cold water ice bath ready to go.  pick a herb that works for your plate.  Basil is a very easy one to work with.  Pick the leaves and  blanch it in hot water and quickly strain the leaves into the ice bath.  squeeze out the water as best as you can and put them in a vita mix.  puree it with oil or canola oil and pass it through cheesecloth.  let it sit in the fridge for about an hour and your ready to go!  Basil works great on its own but if you’re using Thyme, Sage, Rosemary or other herbs that doesn’t have that vibrant green you add flat leaf parsley when you blanche it.  The parsley is mild and won’t drown out the herb flavor but helps bring out that green color.  If you make a lot of it you can freeze it and then thaw when needed.

This was a Shrimp stuffed with Feta.  I used a red pepper coulis and basil oil for the plate.

If you are looking for another color to your oil here are a few suggestions.

Red: Smoked paprika, Chorizo

Yellow: Turmeric, Saffron

Purple: beets

The key is once you’ve pureed them and run them through a cheesecloth make sure you give them time to settle.  The impurities will settle to the bottle.