Main course Original, with French and Mediterranean influences
Brown butter with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and parsley
Editorially prepared
Nutty brown butter with finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and parsley. Serve it warm with fish, pasta or dumplings, or chill and whip it into a butter for spreading on bread.
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Ingredients
4 servings · metric units
The listed quantities make 4 servings as an accompaniment. For a larger batch, use a suitably wide pan or brown the butter in batches. Browning and cooling times do not increase proportionally.
Substitutions
Substitute amounts are adjusted to your selected servings.
- Instead of lemon juicewine vinegar
Instead of lemon juice, add a few drops, stir and taste before adding more. Vinegar gives a sharper acidity without the citrus flavour.
Shopping for this recipe
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Optional ingredients and substitutions
You’ll need
Light-coloured frying pan or saucepan · Room-temperature heatproof bowl, preferably metal · Silicone spatula · Knife and chopping board · Kitchen paper · Kitchen thermometer, useful for cooling · Balloon whisk or electric hand whisk for optional whipping · Sauceboat for serving warm · Lidded container for the whipped version
Method
0/8 stepsPrepare the additions
Drain the tomatoes and blot them with kitchen paper, then finely dice them. Peel and finely chop the garlic with a knife. Wash the parsley, dry it very thoroughly, pick off the leaves and chop them. Cut the butter into pieces. Place a room-temperature heatproof bowl beside the hob.
Prepare the additions Brown the butter
Put the butter in the light-coloured pan and melt over a medium-low heat. Once completely melted, cook for about 5–7 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the milk solids from the base. The butter will foam; towards the end, stir constantly and reduce the heat if it darkens quickly. As soon as the solids turn golden brown and smell of toasted nuts, remove the pan from the hob and immediately pour everything, including the solids, into the prepared bowl. If the solids are still pale, continue cooking and check every few seconds. Do not wait for them to turn dark brown.
Brown the butter Add the garlic and tomatoes
Carefully add the garlic to the transferred hot butter and stir for 15–20 seconds from adding it. It should become fragrant but remain pale. If it starts turning golden quickly, do not wait for the full time. Immediately stir in the tomatoes. Do not reheat.
Add the garlic and tomatoes Cool slightly
After adding the tomatoes, leave the bowl for about 3–5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The butter should remain liquid but stop sizzling; if using a thermometer, wait until it falls to about 60–70°C. If it is still hotter, continue cooling and check every minute.
03:00Cool slightly Add parsley and season
Stir the parsley, pepper and optional lemon juice into the slightly cooled butter. Taste before seasoning with salt. Mix until the additions are evenly distributed. Now choose the warm serving, or skip the next step and proceed to chilling for the whipped version.
Add parsley and season Serve warm
Stir the warm butter just before pouring it into a sauceboat and serve immediately alongside the finished dish. For a pasta or dumpling sauce, gradually whisk in warm starchy cooking water. Start with some of the prepared water, then add the rest as needed to make a glossy sauce. If separate fat remains visible, add another small splash of water and keep whisking; the initial amount may not be enough. Immediately combine with hot, cooked pasta or dumplings. This completes the warm version.
Serve warm Whipped version: chill
For the whipped version only: place the seasoned butter in its bowl in the fridge, without adding starchy water. Chill for about 30–45 minutes from placing it in the fridge, stirring with a fork every 10–15 minutes and scraping the thickening butter from the sides. Stop chilling when the mixture is softly creamy and holds the marks of a fork. If still liquid, check every further 5 minutes. If it has hardened, leave it briefly out of the fridge until easy to stir.
30:00Whipped version: chill Whip and transfer
Beat the soft butter with a balloon whisk or electric hand whisk for about 1–2 minutes from starting, until paler and fluffy with the additions evenly distributed. If the mixture remains liquid, chill it briefly again before continuing. Spoon into a small lidded container. Serve immediately as a soft butter for bread, or cover and refrigerate.
02:00Whip and transfer
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Tips
- Prepare all the additions and the bowl before heating the pan so that you can work without interruption once the butter browns.
- Keep the brown milk solids from the pan — they belong in the finished butter. If they are black and smell acrid, start again; the additions will not remove a burnt flavour.
- Add salt only after the tomatoes. For the sauce version, also allow for the saltiness of the cooking water.
- Do not add starchy water to butter intended for whipping. Choose this version before making the sauce.
Storage
Transfer unused butter to a clean, shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours of preparation. Keep tightly covered at 4°C or below and use within 4 days. You can freeze small portions; thaw them in the fridge. Adding lemon juice does not replace refrigeration. Make the version with starchy cooking water only as needed for serving. ([extension.oregonstate.edu](https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/sp-50-701-herbs-vegetables-oil?utm_source=openai))
Timing
Hands-on: 25 min · Cooking: 10 min · Resting: 50 min
