In Season: Basil
The thing about basil is that once it gets going, you suddenly have way more than you know what to do with. Sure, there's insalata caprese or pasta caprese or anything caprese, but I have to admit I get a little bored. That classic combination is great--just not every day of summer. I've rounded up some recipes featuring basil used in alternative ways, whether it be as an infusion, in a fresh pasta dough, or simply featured in a chilled martini to sip on the porch. Given half a chance, basil can truly shine when it's not with its BFFs tomato and mozzarella.
Basil Recipes
- Watermelon-Basil Martinis and Mint Juleps
- Genovese Minestrone
- Pear, Basil, and Pecorino Toscano Salad
- Flat Pasta with Rock Shrimp and Zucchini
- Basil-Infused Tuna with Soy Vinaigrette
- Preserved Lemon Semifreddo with Basil Syrup
- Pesto Tips and Recipes
What's your best basil recipe?
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21 Comments:
I freeze fresh basil. I also dry it. If you can tomatoes throw some in your jars. The scent of fresh basil is just the best thing ever.
JerzeeTomato at 5:46PM on 07/19/09
A really great way to get rid of basil is to keep house rabbits. Mine swarm through the herb like locusts :)
Michele Humes at 5:55PM on 07/19/09
My basil isn't do the greatest this year, it has been to rainy and cold :(
kimbit at 8:05PM on 07/19/09
If you really have a ton of basil, make lots of pesto and have some friends over for dinner, featuring the pesto, of course. It's quick, easy, delicious, and versatile. Send everyone home with some of the pesto and freeze any excess in cubes for yourself. Done and done.
I agree with you on the scent, Jerz. I just love it.
Lotus7 at 8:06PM on 07/19/09
Agree w/ Lotus7 - freeze it (possibly before adding the cheese). Another idea is soupe au pistou, or pasta fagioli, or really any vegetable or light pasta soup - just stir it in, grate on some parm.
emilydev at 8:35PM on 07/19/09
I just made 8 cups of pesto to freeze (sans cheese). And that still leaves half the basil in the garden! YUM!!!
jmoilanen at 8:39PM on 07/19/09
I don't seem to have a problem with too much basil--I can't seem to grow enough! Until the end of the summer. I make pesto, substituting some veggie broth for the olive oil. And I freeze it in ice cube trays, then pull out the cubes and freeze them in freezer bags for easy storage. An ice cube is 2 Tbsp, perfect for a personal pizza. Adding olive oil makes a great pesto salad dressing. There's peso butter, pesto mayonnaise, pesto cream cheese, pesto rice. Too much basil? Does not compute!
mostlyreal at 9:25PM on 07/19/09
I never have a problem with too much basil--I make pesto and freeze it in logs--usually I've got enough to get through the winter.
Why do you folks leave the cheese out before you freeze it?
beano at 12:08AM on 07/20/09
One of my favorite basil recipes is a basil broccoli soup:
Boil lots of basil leaves with some cut up broccoli until tender. Puree in a blender. Add some butter. Salt to taste.
So simple, so tasty!
engill at 2:10AM on 07/20/09
I make lots of pesto and freeze it, and I'm looking for a good substitute for pine nuts. I actually like the flavor of sunflower seeds, but the pesto looks pretty gray which is unappetizing. Other than walnuts, have any of you tried other nuts?
I never have a problem with the cheese added before freezing, so I'm with beano - why do a couple of you freeze it without the cheese?
Jerzee - what's your method of freezing just the leaves?
lemonfair at 7:09AM on 07/20/09
I have a basil plant this year, but I've never known this...
From where do I pluck the leaves to encourage new growth? Do I just take the little bunches from the tops of the stems?
soozm32 at 12:11PM on 07/20/09
I made awesome basil carbonara last night- no meat, just pasta, egg, parmesan, and a bunch of chiffonaded basil.
I generally chuck all my basil stems in a freezer bag and use them later for veggie soup stock. I've tried freezing just the leaves, but I find they freeze better if I dunk them in olive oil first, then spread them flat in a freezer bag. Next time I have extra basil, I'l do the same and put a sheet of waxed paper between the first and second layer of leaves-makes it easier to peel off the amount I want later on.
thatgrrl at 12:33PM on 07/20/09
Don't fully make pesto and freeze it. What you want to make is... the beginnings of pesto, what we call "basil brickle" at my house. Take your basil, food-process or stone-grind it, and mix it with JUST ENOUGH olive oil to make a smooth paste. Put that in small freezer bags, spread it out flat so no air is touching most of it, and freeze.
Then, when you want to make pesto, you break off some of the basil brickle and thaw it. Only NOW do you add most of your oil, garlic, salt, pine nuts, and cheese, because that way they come to the party with their full fresh flavor, not with 6 months in the freezer behind them. (Frozen cheese is an abomination anyway.) The results, assuming you started with good basil to begin with, are much more flavorful than if you freeze finished pesto.
Sky Full of Bacon at 12:40PM on 07/20/09
I was told to preserve it by layering it with salt so I harvested lots, washed it, thoroughly dried it, stuffed lots into a plastic bottle, added salt, put the lid on and tossed adding more leaves and salt until I had it full. During the winter I can pick out dried leaves (I keep this in the refrigerator to make sure it doesn't go bad) and I just discovered I have basil-infused salt for cooking. I like cooking pasta with the basil-salt.
sillygirl at 1:09PM on 07/20/09
BASIL COOKIES! A little savory/sweet surprise: http://gastronomyblog.com/2009/07/02/basil-cookies/
Cathy Danh at 1:14PM on 07/20/09
this weekend i made vietnamese spring rolls with basil from my plant. had a few leaves left so threw them into my pasta sauce for my lasagna to eat during the week.
lauraaaa at 1:37PM on 07/20/09
How do you all keep your basil fresh? I can't grow my own basil in my current apartment, so I buy it in bunches from the grocery store (often Whole Foods). The basil is beautiful and fragrant at the store, but they often wilt (or at least begin to) within a couple days once I take them home. I've tried everything: refrigeration, room temperature storage, and both of the previous options in a small glass of water (with freshly trimmed stems, no less). I can't imagine WF is able to sell all that basil every day, but I would be surprised to learn that they just trashed it every night and started over. Does anyone know their secret?
Lp101 at 4:52PM on 07/20/09
Lp101 Cut a good length off the bottom so you've cut past the point where it's dry, so the stem will take up water (just as you would do with roses). Keep on the windowsill in a glass of water. I do this with basil from my garden, so I can have a leaf or two when I want it. But my basil is fresh, and takes up water just fine - whether this works for you will depend on how fresh the herb is. Basil put in the fridge may turn brown.
lemonfair at 5:44PM on 07/20/09
soozm32 - yes you do take the little bunches from the tops of the stems, which are the growing tips. New growth will start in the axils of the leaves. This is just the same way that florists or gardeners make their flowering plants bushier.
lemonfair at 5:47PM on 07/20/09
Thanks, lemonfair!
soozm32 at 1:31AM on 07/21/09
I also have a plethora of basil, and I tried the cookie recipe today. Very good! Only thing is, "golf ball" size is too big and made only 11 cookies. Try "walnut size" for a 24 count. Maybe the writer doesn't play golf! Any way, try it, it's unusual and tasty.
lambowner at 5:54PM on 07/21/09