How can I use fresh basil?

Question

I bought fresh basil for a certain chicken romano dish i made. How can i use the rest of it for other dishes. what does it go good with other than tomatoes?
I usualy make burgrs and salad. maybe eggs bacon sausage. other than that not much very often.. any sugestions///???

Answer 1

Holly G, do you have problems with flies or other flying insects?, if so put the basil into a cheesecloth sack and hang it up and voila the insects will be gone, it really works.

Answer 2

any soup tastes delicous with basil, also you should make pesto with it, it's fairly easy and oh so good

Pesto Recipe
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts
3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.
Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to scrape down sides of container.
Process basil pesto it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well. Serve over pasta. Basil pesto keeps in refrigerator one week, or freeze for a few months

Answer 3

Sure, you can put it in fresh salads, you can cut some tomatoes and saute the tomatos in butter and garlic, maybe some pre-fried onions and celery and about two minutes from finish put in your basil leaves, whole or cut, your choice. You habve noticed the wonderful smell they have so they are good for garnish, put on sandwich instead of lettuce, is great with any white meat dishes, just dont over cook. See theveins on any leaves, whether herbs for teas or for cooking, and the deeper the veins run means require longer cooking, but basil you see is delicate. Enjoy

Answer 4

You can put fresh basil in absolutely anything! I know I do! Be creative, use your imagination. Pasta without a red tomato sauce is good. You could just mix it in the food processor with other igredients garlic, parsley, onion etc. with a little olive oil and maybe another liquid ingredient and throw it with any kind of pasta. This is tasty!

Answer 5

Fettuccine with Cream, Basil and Romano
Ingredients
(4 servings)
4 ea Bacon slices; chopped thick
1/2 c Whipping cream

1 x Or:
1/3 c Basil; chopped fresh
1 x Salt and freshly ground pepp
1 x Romano; freshly grated
4 ea Green onions; chopped
1/2 c Parmesan; freshly grated
1/2 c Romano; freshly grated
1/2 lb Fettuccine
1 x Parmesan; freshly grated
Instructions
Cook bacon in heavy medium skillet over medium heat until beginning to brown. Add green onions and stir until softened, about 1 minute. Add cream and simmer until beginning to thicken, about 1 minute. Mix in 1/2 cup Romano cheese and chopped fresh basil. Meanwhile, cook fettuccine in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain well. Return to hot pot. Add sauce and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, passing additional cheese separately. *** My notes: When I made this, I used 1 cup whipping cream, 1/2 cup each Parmesan and Romano, 1 tbsp dried basil, and substituted 4 or 5 thin slices of Prosciutto for the bacon- frying slightly in butter. I used about 6 ounces of "Pesto Linguini", which is a thinner pasta containing basil. We like LOTS of sauce!

Answer 6

it's a good thing you have something that will encourage you to try a more varied menu. Try a basil, feta, and tomato sandwich made with toasted bread (don't use cheap white bread)........
also make PESTO with leftover basil leaves.... this can be stored for a long tome and can be used in pasta dishes, on h'ors doeuvres or in soups! ENJOY

Answer 7

Try this:

Slice tomato, fresh mozzarella and rolled up prosciutto. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and some red wine vinegar as an appetizer. Lots of basil is the final step.

Answer 8

Caprese salad. Make a pizza. . . Basil oil is good. Pesto. peas and basil work well together Just type "Basil recipes" in google, I'm sure you'll end up with a lot.

Answer 9

i know you said other than tomatoes, but you also said you usually make salad, so you can either cut some up into a regular green lettuce salad - OR - you can cut some up into this little salad that really good and easy. slice some tomatoes, red onion, and basil (you can also add cucumber) into a bowl, and season with olive oil, vinegar, and garlic and salt. it's really really good. you can also top it with a little mozzarella cheese. really yummy.

Answer 10

OMG. There are Sooo many ways. Just use it. Leave the fly stuff for the no-pest strip. Put it in your burgers and salad. Coat the salad with a little olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Answer 11

I've always liked making a basil mayonaise then using it on sandwiches, or as a condiment for burgers. Just stack up a few leaves, roll them tightly, and slice them as thinly as you can. Then just stir them into some mayonaise.
(slicing them like that is called Chiffonade by chefs)

You can also take the chiffonade, and just sprinkle it into salads.