Any good recipes which include basil?

Question

I've been given a lovely big basil plant, but I don't have any recipes - any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Answer 1

THAI BASIL CHICKEN

1 lb. skinned, boned chicken breasts
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, chopped
2 tbs peanut or olive oil
4 tiny green or red asian chili peppers, stemmed and finely chopped
3/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tbs fish sauce

Put chicken breasts in freezer until firm but not frozen solid. Cut chicken into tiny slivers. Heat up wok, add oil, and stirfry garlic and green onions until tender but not brown, about 1-2 minutes. Add chili peppers and cook, stirring, about 1 minute more. Add chicken and stirfry until cooked through. Stir in basil and fish sauce, mixing thoroughly. Serve over rice, if desired.

TOMATO BASIL PIZZA

1 pkg (10 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust (homemade is better)
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
2 tbsp fresh basil, snipped
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, pressed
4 plum tomatoes (Roma tomatoes), thinly sliced
olive oil spray


Preheat oven to 375°F.
Spray 12x15 cookie sheet with olive oil spray. Roll dough onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle crust with 1 cup mozzarella.

Combine the remaining mozzarella cheese, Parmesan, basil, garlic, and mayonnaise in bowl.

Layer tomatoes over mozzarella and top with cheese and mayo mixture

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Aside from the tomato-mozzarella- whole basil leaf with the basalmic, I love to make bruschetta with fresh basil.

You can make it warm or cold. If you decide on "cold" (which I prefer), you can do the following:

Cut angled slices off of a baguette (one with a crusty outside and chewy inside). Lightly brush each piece with olive oil and place under the broiler (watch closely). Once the bread is toasted, turn pieces over and repeat process (again, watch closely). When the second side is done toasting, smash a garlic clove and rub it on each piece of toast.

In a bowl, combine diced fresh tomatoes, diced red onion, and add basil (if you know how to do a chiffonade, it's best- stack leaves on top of each other, roll it up from the long side, and cut the roll into small pieces). Add salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with olive oil. Spoon mixture onto tasts and sprinkle with grated parmasean cheese. Absolutely fabulous!! :) If you want the mixture to be warm, you can place the assembled ones back under the broiler, if you wish (watch closely).

Sorry for the lack of measurements, but that's how I cook!! I just cut up a bunch of tomatoes and then add diced onion to my liking. The leftovers are very tasty, so don't be afraid to make too much. Try to only make as many fully assembled bruschetta as you need, since the bread can get soggy if you leave them too long.

Answer 4

Try making a basil infused oil as food addative or lovely gifts for your friends as follows:

Herb or Spice Infused Oil
Instructions
It's easy to make herb and/or spice infused olive oils at home. They make wonderful gifts for all occasions.

Wash and dry your choice of herb branches and lightly bruise them to release flavor. Place them in a clean decorative glass container, cover with warmed oil, and seal tightly. Leave in a cool, dark place to infuse about two weeks. Taste. If not strong enough, add more fresh herbs and let stand another week. You can either strain the oil or leave the herbs in. If you do not strain the herbs out, the flavor will become stronger as it stands, so keep that in mind. Less strongly-flavored oils like sunflower oil and safflower oil work best to give a more prominent herb flavor. However, extra-virgin olive oil is also a good choice. If you begin with a monounsatured oil such as olive oil or peanut oil, the infused oils should be refrigerated. These are highly perishable and can turn rancid quickly. You can also add garlic, but remove the garlic cloves after a couple of days so as to not overpower the flavor of the herbs. If you choose to leave the garlic cloves in the oil, be sure to refrigerate the oil to avoid the threat of botulism. Use your favorite combinations. Use the oils within two months. Use infused oils in salad dressings and marinades to enjoy full flavor.

Answer 5

Pesto Sauce
bunch of basil leaves (wash and patted with paper towel)
olive oil
1/2 cp. Toasted Pine Nuts
1cp/ Parmessean Cheese
3 tbsp. Minced Garlic
salt and pepper to taste

in a food processor or a blender;
1. add basil leaves, toasted pine nuts, garlic, salt and pepper
and with the setting on low slowly add olive oil until you get your desired consistancy.
Add parmessean when you put it into a serving bowl.

Pesto goes great with;
Chicken breasts and bow tie pasta
spagetti
Hamburgers (i use mozzerella cheese)
turkey sandwiches (in place of mayo)

Answer 6

Pesto-
Basil , Olive Oil, Garlic, Pine Nuts and Parmesan Cheese
Mix all in blender - it's great on a pizza crust or heated up over pasta.

Answer 7

My favorite thing to do with fresh basil is make open faced sandwiches with them. I use a crusty bread, cut it into slices, place a bit of marinara sauce on top of the slice of bread, place some mozzarella (preferably fresh) on top of that. Add a slice of fresh tomato and pop it into the oven (or toaster oven) and let it go until the cheese starts to melt. When that's done, take it out and top it with basil. It's got a great taste!

Enjoy!

Answer 8

Just put loads of fresh basil in a homemade pasta sauce. Message me if you want a recipe.

Answer 9

Oh how I envy you! Well of course first there's pesto. You can toss it about any pasta dish. Just rip the leaves. And epicurious.com has an excellent basil-buttermilk dressing recipe. Tomato based salads or bruschetta are good too.

Answer 10

Sprinkle loads of basil leaves onto your pasta sauce - goes really well with tomato sauces.

Also, you could make fresh pesto - pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and basil leaves. Crush it all up in a blender, or by hand with pestle and mortar. Stir through pasta. (Hope you like strong flavours!)

Could also put a few leaves in a mixed salad - delish!