What do you do with Basil besides make Pesto?

I can never wait for that first harvest of leaves from my basil seedlings! LOL I pinch them back when they have 3 sets of true leaves, leaving 2 pairs of true leaves on the main stem... and then I eat all the little tops!

YUM!! I can't wait! Smelling the leaves is driving me crazy!
I've been on a basil and pesto kick for 2 years now. ;-)

Vietnamese food also uses basil in their cooking. You can wrap the raw leaves, along with a couple of the following: fresh mint, cilantro, cucumbers, avocado, boiled shrimp, chicken, crab meat, julienned carrots, etc... in a spring roll wrappers and dip either in fish sauce with chopped thai chilies...or any sauce of your choice. Delicious. Oh, and btw, the spring roll wrappers will be labled as such and should be opaque, stiff, oval sheets that you dip for a few seconds in hot water before wrapping.

Another good vietnamese dish for basil is Pho. It's a noodle dish in a anise flavored beef stock and usually has a liberal amount of fresh basil and cilantro on top.

I use basil in my pizza crusts, my pizza suace, and my spaghetti suace

I just added some leaves to my mixed greens salad tonight. Yum!

Use whole fresh basil leaves as a layer in lasagne or ziti...yummy!

This message was edited Jun 21, 2006 9:11 PM

Glamoury, I did the same thing -- purple basil, lemon basil, windowbox basil, and spicy globe basil -- great combo! I used a simple dressing of good olive oil & balsamic vinegar, and we topped it with some leftover Italian grilled chicken (overnight marinade of italian dressing base, red wine vinegar, touch of honey, and a splash of olive oil).

I love having fresh basil so readily available again now that it's summer! I even minced up a handful the other day and added it to mac 'n cheese, which I like to make from the blue box but with a dollop of nonfat sour cream in place of milk & butter, and then I add things like canned tuna or salmon or chicken & peas or other veggies. A dash of pepper or hot sauce will perk it up even further. Who knew the blue box could go gormet??

Make tomato basil soup (I've a great recipe if you like)
or
Fresh bruschetta:
2 tomatoes, chopped and seeded,
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
salt & pepper
serve on toasted baguettes purchased bagel crisps

This is so refreshing.

YUMMAY!!

My favorite summer salad:

Saute some garlic and a couple basil leaves in olive oil until the garlic starts to turn golden.
Add corn (fresh or frozen) and saute on medium high heat until cooked through.
Chop up cucumbers and tomatoes into 1/2" pieces.
Toss together corn mixture, tomatoes, cucumbers, and some chopped up basil (I use a loose cup of basil).
Add balsamic vinegar, more olive oil, and course sea salt to taste. (You might want to add a little sugar to the vinegar, but I don't).

It's an easy salad that has beautiful colors and tastes like summer.

Oh that *does* sound good and I have cucumbers and basil in the garden! :-)

That sounds divine!

Knolan,
Please print your tomato basil soup here. Thanks. Linda

If you have a Carrabba's Rest. in your area, try their Chicken Bryan. Grilled chicken with sun dried tomatoes, goat milk cheese, fresh basil. Really yummy. And a good way to have chicken at home, too.

Fresh basil is good under the skin of a roasted chicken, and I also put some inside the chicken. It smells heavenly. If you like goat milk cheese, that can also be included under the skin with the basil.

Oooh, bivbiv, I'll have to try that tomorrow night! Sounds yummy :)

Thanks.

I posted this somewhere else, but here again is my very favorite way to use pesto:

Saute peeled and deveined raw shrimp in a little olive oil (or butter). Add pesto after the shrimp have turned pink. Warm through and serve on your choice of pasta (linguine is great!) or cooked, "shredded" spaghetti squash. Easy and very, very yummy!

I make my pesto in batches and freeze in the small jars that pimientos, marinated artichoke hearts, chopped garlic, etc. have come in. I thaw the jar in some warm water while I'm peeling the shrimp, and by the time they're pink, the pesto is thawed and ready to use.

Enjoy!

Sounds *wonderful to me. :-)
~Elaine~

Instead of a BLT, have a BBT. You can use any basil, but lettuce leaf is really good. Then just make a Bacon, Basil Leaf, and home grown tomato sandwich with lots of mayo on whole grain bread.

Since Im vegetarian, I use a soy substitute for the bacon and I like green onions on mine.
Easy. Easy.

As I write this, tomatoes cost more than a dollar a pound in the store and they are from Brazil. There is no lettuce fit to eat. Next year, Im growing my own.

Find a Farmer's Market. Should be great tomatoes there this time of year!