Where I live, you can't get fresh basil, so I use it dried, but will the pesto turn out alright if I use dried basil?
2007-03-01 19:28:38 · 5 answers · asked by Alisha N 1 in Food & Drink ➔ Cooking & Recipes
Please don't do that. It will make me sad. Dried basil is more potent than fresh basil- think of it as concentrate. If you use dried basil you'll need to add more olive oil and pine nuts to tame the pungent taste and it will become one oily mess! You might be better off trying to make the pesto without the basil and adding more fresh tarrogan, fresh sage, turnip greens, and/or fresh flat-leaf parsley. Try using the above mentioned leaves if you can't find fresh basil.
2007-03-01 19:33:30 · answer #1 · answered by Suz E. Home BAKER 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For the pesto to work, the basil must be fresh and fragrant. Dried basil has little fragrance left. So where do you live? How come you have no basil?? Why not try planting them yourself. It's easy.
That said, I looked into the web and searched for a pesto alternative. Below are the link and the recipe. Note that in this recipe, you can use dried basil.
Ingredients:
1 medium Avocado
1/3 Cups virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
pepper to taste (cayenne or freshly ground black)
1/3 Cups romano/parmesan cheeses, grated
1 Tbsp fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp lime juice or undistilled cider vinegar
water to bring to a cream-like consistency
Instruction:
Prepare favorite pasta or rice. Process sauce shortly before serving. Split avocado, remove pit and scoop flesh with a spoon. Place in blender or food processor along with other ingrdients. Puree. Put puree in a large pan and bring up the heat slowly. Add water as needed to give the sauce a cream-like consistency. Before sauce begins to boil add pasta or rice and fold together. Remove from heat and serve immediately on warmed plates.
2007-03-02 03:40:17 · answer #2 · answered by Dowland 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it will work at well. The fresh basil have the water/liquid to make the pesto. Dried is obviously dried.
2007-03-02 03:32:36 · answer #3 · answered by piggylover_850 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dried basil is fine for pesto
2007-03-02 14:55:17 · answer #4 · answered by whymewhynow 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it won't taste the same.
You might try finding a type of pesto that uses parsley or cilantro instead.
Here are some sample recipes but you can find more on the internet using Google.
Just make sure your pine nuts are fresh or that could really ruin the flavor.
Enjoy! I love pesto!
2007-03-02 04:41:47 · answer #5 · answered by Sue L 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋