Chilli Oil for Drizzling: A Love Letter to La Caja Saludable, Fermentation Experiments & Garlic Confit Magic

There are weeks when a single ingredient becomes a bit of an obsession. Lately, for me, it’s chillies — fresh, dried, fermented, blitzed, steeped, you name it. And it all started with a delivery from La Caja Saludable and the urge to make a small batch chilli oil with fresh chillies that I could drizzle over absolutely everything.

This is actually my second chilli box from La Caja Saludable. The first one had a completely different vibe — more reds, deeper greens, and those punchy little yellow habanero‑style chillies. I’ve added the photo below because the contrast between the two boxes is half the fun, especially now that I’m deep into fermenting chillies and noticing how each variety behaves differently.

And then there was the garlic confit.

If you’ve made my Roast Chicken for One with Confit Garlic & Warm Chickpea Panzanella, you’ll know exactly the kind of silky, golden garlic oil I’m talking about. The kind that tastes like garlic turned luxurious. I had a small jar left over, and there was no way I was letting that go to waste.

So naturally, all roads led to one thing:
a small‑batch, rustic chilli oil for drizzling over absolutely everything.

Why Make a Small Batch Chilli Oil with Fresh Chillies?

This isn’t the searing, smoky, Sichuan‑style chilli crisp that tries to knock you off your chair. This is a gentler, fruitier, olive‑oil‑forward drizzle — the kind you splash over eggs, swirl into soups, spoon onto hummus, or let run down the side of a slice of toasted sourdough.

It’s built on three pillars:

1. Mild dried chilli flakes

They give colour, warmth, and that rustic speckled look I love. They stay in the bottle, settling like edible confetti.

2. Fresh chillies (seeds and all)

These are your flavour boosters. They bring brightness and a clean, fresh heat. They go into the infusion whole — seeds, membrane, everything — and then get fished out once they’ve done their job.

3. A spoonful of garlic confit oil

This is the secret handshake. It rounds everything out with a soft, sweet garlic note that doesn’t overpower the chillies or the olive oil.

Small‑Batch Drizzling Chilli Oil (250 ml)

Ingredients for Your Small Batch Chilli Oil with Fresh Chillies

• 250 ml olive oil (regular or light works best for heating)
• 2–3 tbsp mild dried chilli flakes
• 1 fresh chilli, sliced — seeds, membrane, the whole lot
• 1–2 tsp garlic confit oil (see how to make it in my Roast Chicken for One post: )

How to Make It

1. Build your chilli base
   Add the dried chilli flakes and sliced fresh chilli to a heatproof bowl or jug.
2. Warm the olive oil
   Heat it gently until it shimmers — hot enough to coax out flavour, not hot enough to smoke. Think “warm bath”, not “deep‑fryer”.
3. Pour and sizzle
   Pour the warm oil over the chillies. A soft sizzle is perfect. Let it infuse for 10–15 minutes.
4. Add the garlic confit oil
   Stir it in once the oil has cooled slightly. This keeps the garlic flavour mellow and sweet.
5. Remove the fresh chilli slices
   They’ve given you their best. Lift them out and discard (or snack on them if you’re brave).
6. Bottle it
   Pour into a clear glass pourer — flakes and all — and tuck it into a drawer away from the light.

How Long It Lasts

Because the fresh chilli is removed and only dried flakes remain:

• Room temperature (in a drawer): about 1 month
• Fridge: up to 3 months

But honestly, 250 ml never lasts that long in my kitchen.

How to Use Your Chilli Oil

• Drizzled over fried eggs
• On top of roasted veg
• Swirled into yoghurt as a quick dip
• Over chickpeas, always
• On pizza (don’t knock it)
• And yes, even over that roast chicken

One of my favourite ways to use this is in my Spanish Pil-Pil Chicken Thighs — the chilli oil does most of the work there.

It’s the kind of condiment that quietly becomes a habit, and this small batch chilli oil with fresh chillies has already earned a permanent spot in my kitchen.

Find more recipes and food adventures as part of my Spice Blends & Condiments collection. Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef