Basil oil, rosemary-chilli oil and coriander-lime oil

There is an increasing variety of flavoured and infused oils for sale in supermarkets and food shops. The worst are thin and insipid, too delicate and use poor oil to start with. The best, or the ones I like most, are made from good olive oil, the rich flavour of which is enhanced by the intense, aromatic herbs and/or spices added. There is something very exotic about these bottled miracles of flavour; an impression of alchemy, something that could only be conjured in the room behind the shop of some old Tuscan oil merchant. This may well be the case for all I know, since I’ve rarely been happy with my occasional attempts at infusion. However, at Café Paradiso there are always at hand at least two of our own flavoured oils and two or three others - if you count toasted sesame, which I would never be without, and other nut oils (less essential but nice to know they are there). At the moment there are, let’s see, ten different oils in the kitchen. Spoiled, aren’t we? I’ll tell you how we ‘make’ three of these and some things we use them for, though whether these instructions could be called recipes is doubtful.