Basil
Basil is a culinary herb, actually in the mint family. Basil is a hearty vibrant green plant, it is very fragrant and widely used in many cultures.
It is best to tear your basil, but also popular to chiffonade your basil with a sharp knife. I sharp knife is key, as to not bruise your basil. A delightful combination is a tomato, basil, and balsamic glaze.
Store your basil in a glass of water on the counter. If you store basil in the refrigerator it will turn black, basil doesn’t like the cold.
Vitamin K, A,C, manganese, copper, calcium, folate, iron, omega-3, magnesium
Basil and oil cubes ready to be frozen. These are a welcome thaw in the winter for spaghetti sauces.
Herb butter is a great way to preserve herbs over the winter months.
Here is a quick step-by-step on how to chiffonade your basil:
Roll one basil leaf up lengthwise:
When you get to the end of one leaf, add another one and continue to roll like so:
Continue the process with 3 or 4 leaves until you have a good sized roll.
Take your roll and slice crosswise and you’ll be left with these lovely little ribbons of basil! The exposed surface area of the cut leaves provides the most “bang for your buck” in terms of flavor.
One question we’ve been asked is “are the basil flowers edible?” The short answer is yes, you can work with basil flowers!
If you are a gardener and have basil in your garden, you can cut back the basil tops to keep them from flowering for as long as possible. This allows the plant to transfer energy to the delicate leaves rather than trying to produce the flowers. If your basil flowers, however, there are some ways you can enjoy them! You can try them in a salad, though truth be told that is not so much our thing. A tea is always a welcome treat (definitely Jess’ thing), especially a basil flower iced tea in the summertime. As basil is part of the mint family, and it can be a lot like mint under the hood, especially mixed into cool drinks.
This doesn’t have to be a fancy recipe, simply toss some stems with basil flowers into your pitcher of tea or lemonade, and enjoy! It brings a welcome and refreshing summer kick to your standard beverage. We hope you enjoy these ideas, and as always, please let us know if you have anything to add!
The quintessential August recipe! This recipe from Alice Waters is Jess’ favorite at the moment. Taking the time to salt the eggplant removes any potential bitterness that may effect the overall flavor of the dish. (If you’re looking for fancy, there are many beautiful layered ratatouille versions out there as well.) This version uses a basil boquet that is removed after cooking, so you can get away with using basil that’s starting to bolt, making it a great end-of-season recipe!
I used both Parmesan and mozzerella for this one, I think the combo is necessary. I also would not skip the roasting step for both the eggplant and the garlic, it adds so much flavor to the dish.
This one is more of a concept for you to play with. Make it mediterranean style with olives, tomatoes, feta and pesto. Make it parmigiana style like I did. Make it with fresh cut tomatoes and basil, and/or a tomato meat sauce. Whatever you decide to use to fill your crown, I hope you’ll love it!
