What do you do with Basil?

My husband works at an apartment community. He is forever finding interesting things that people just abandon. Yesterday, he came home with a planter box full of basil! I was thrilled because I am always talking about wanting to grow stuff.

The question is now, what do I do with it? I have like 2 recipe that calls for fresh basil. Fresh pesto sauce and a pasta salad with fresh tomatoes and ricotta cheese. Would my husband eat pasta salad? No, he doesn't eat anything ending in salad or casserole. Plus, he would rather be hog tied and drug through the streets naked then eat a tomato. The kids would eat the pasta and pick around the rest.

My little kitchen fairy helped me pick and wash basil so we could make fresh pesto this morning.


Here is the Pesto Recipe that I like.

* 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
* 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
* 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste



1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.



2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.



If you have a great recipe using basil, please share it! I am going to try drying some and see how that goes.

This post is linked to Crazy Daisy's Tuesday Taste!