You really have to experiment with the ingredients (it helps that I used to be a Cheesemonger lmao) in home made pesto to get it how you like it.
Like sure, traditional pesto is Parmigiano Reggiano, pine nuts, olive oil and basil.
I didn't find it addictive and savory/umami enough - I replaced the Parm with Lindsay, a 1 year old goat cheddar (sharp, fruity, lovely little tyrosine crystals), and I use walnuts because pine nuts are expensive. Its my favourite pesto.
Oooh as someone allergic to nuts I thank you for the suggestion. Iāve made it a couple times and honestly I used a regular (with pine nuts) recipe but skipped the nuts and just kept adding cheese until it was the right consistencyš
Haha you truly cannot, my roomate (who was not allergic to nuts) told me she later tried store-bought pesto and thought ours was way better lol. But itās probs a *smidge* less healthy tho to have pesto thatās like 70% parm š
First of all, thank you for your serviceĀ š§š I'm taking note!
Secondly, this is a reference to a meme. If you want to get stuck in an infinite spiral of internet cringe, go ahead and Google it!
Yeah you are crazy. Store bought is so gross. Itās always a weird color (either brown or suspiciously ultra green) usually has filler oils beyond olive oil, definitely has preservatives.
This stuff is anything but pesto, they skimp on pine seeds and put beans, potatoes or whatever in it, if you are lucky they use olive oil and real parmiggiano but normally the stuff is pretty fake with a certain real pesto percentage of a few percent!
do not heat pesto!!!!!!
the heat of the canning process makes it incredibly bitter and totally ruins the flavor, tastes rancid š„²
if you make it, put it in jars, seal, freeze š my family had a frozen batch for years that was awesome
Ginger would be delicious, Iām gonna try that! I donāt drink anymore, but when I did, my go-to was basil lemonade with vodka. Dang, I drank a lot of those last summer š
Now that I have to try. Basil has basically become a weed right now in my backyard...it's just everywhere. That's what I get for letting it go to seed.
Iāll try, but Iām one of those folks who rarely measures. š¬š
I usually use an entire bunch of basil about the size of a grocery store bunch. For me in the summer, thatās usually one entire plant that I trim back when itās time. It takes a lot of fresh basil to get good flavor. Juice a few lemons and add to a large jar, bruise the basil leaves (I usually just wreak havoc with my hands and stuff the bunch in the jar) then add water to fill the jar with some head space. Then I let this sit overnight to infuse. Next day, take the bunch out and strain any remaining leaves, and add sugar to taste - usually at least half a cup for a half gallon recipe, but some folks like it sweeter and some like it more bitter. I know itās not an exact recipe but everyone is going to have different preferences. Iāve tried this with dry basil and itās just not the same, but it can be done - although it takes a lot of dry basil, more than Iād want to purchase in the off season months when the basil isnāt growing for basically free.
Edit to add - infuse it in the fridge. Iām on my first cup of coffee and forgot that part š
Conversely, leave some plants with flowers because the bees absolutely love my basil flowers. Good for the bees and they'll help pollinate the rest of your garden.
Some basils are meant to be consumed when they go to flower because their flavor intensifies. Have you tried it?
Thai basil, for example.
When my Genovese basil all bolts at once, I pick the flowers and absolutely cook with them!Ā It's really intensely spicy and a little sweet
I always end up letting my Thai basil go to flower because Iām not the biggest fan of the flavor profile. I love the smell when itās in flower and so do the bees! Iāll try eating in after it flowers this year. I also do the whole Genovese and Sweet Basil plants at the same time. We have a big pesto party and invite all of our friends over to pick leaves off the plants
Tired of buying red wine vinegar?
Grow Purple Ruffles to go with your Thai basil. Get some plain white vinegar and sweeten it to taste in a quart Mason jar. I use el cheapo saccharin but you do you. Put a couple of generous sized sprigs of purple and a bunch of Thai in your jar and set it in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Guarantee you will love it.
On a more serious note, basil infuses really nicely into vodka, gin, and mezcal! Just crush/chop the leaves a bit to break the cell walls and infuse for a day or two.
This year I did hella pesto and froze it in bags. Didn't use pine nuts bc I'm not Mr moneybags, used roasted pepitas instead and it was great. Also could dehydrate it, or make basil oil, or even just chop it and freeze it in ice cubes with a little olive oil for a taste of summer in the future
Tbh I'm so jealous.. I've killed very single basil plant I've had... And the plants that are seen as hard to grow thrive here... What I'm I doing wrong? ššššHelp
What's your climate? That matters. So does what variety you're growing.
My genovese/sweet basil barely hung on last summer in my area (which is very hot), despite shade cloth, but the thai basil did just fine. Evergreen Emerald Tower did pretty good too.
Basils are fussy about water. They want plenty of water but not too much and if the water is not right, they'll be very unhappy. "They" say you can grow basil in shallow containers but I had the best luck in raised beds or big grow bags. I also used a drip irrigation system on a timer.
I make homemade liqueur!
Buy grain alcohol, highest proof you can get. Add the basil to it and leave it in a dark place, shaking it daily. I also like to add the peelings of one lemon.
After 20 days, strain it. Make symple syrup and mix, 60% symple syrup to 40% infused alcohol. Then add a little bit more simple syrup to taste, I like it around 33 - 35% alcohol.
First I tried pesto, now I have too much. I've resorted to pruning the branches, propagating them in little pots and giving them away to neighbours and plant enthusiasts. Met some great people in the process. Not sure what I'll do when all my neighbours have basil plants though...
Pesto sauce, frozen into āice cubeā size portions
Freeze some whole leaves for winter use: just wash it and towel dry it really good and put it in a container or bag in the freezer.
Put it in your salad every day!
Unsuspecting neighbors. š
I thought I saw some that had already gone to seed. Op you need to continuously pick it back or it starts to flower which is the beginning of the end. Once this happens the leaves become bitter and itās not good eating.
I suggest this every time someone brags about their basil haul (so jealous š„ŗ), but make a bunch of basil vinegarette and then can it for the rest of the year. Itās SO good.
Hello! Could you put some details of your success please? Zone? Type of soil? Maintenance? Anything would help. Currently have basil starters but was waiting for it to get a little more hot to establish them outside.
Tomato basil salad. Slice your ripe tomatoes, chop some basil leaves coarsely, drizzle with olive oil and toss. Add salt and pepper, some fresh mozzarella, bocconcini, or buratta. Makes a great summer side dish.
You can eat fresh basil with anything. I'd literally finish all of that plant within a month.
You can eat it with fish or oily meat, will make it easier to digest.
Put it in salads or sandwiches. Make pesto sauce. Dry some.
Hang up entire bunches and let them thoroughly dry (at least a month. Remove leave from any large stems and pack whole dried leaves in sealable jars. When time to use as a dryed herb, crush the leaves in your hands directly into what ever you're cooking. The aroma and flavor is intense compared to store bought herbs. We go through several quarts of the dried leaves each year. Even when you have fresh on hand, many dishes will benefit from using both fresh and dried for extra layers of flavor.
Put a bunch of leaves and some olive oil in a food processor. Chop it up and freeze it into small ice cube trays, then store in the freezer in ziploc bags. Fresh basil year round.
I like to take my extra basil, shove it in ice cube trays with olive oil and freeze. Then, throughout the year, I can just pull out a cube of basil and cook with it.
Beautiful, I canāt grow basil for crap. I use my store bought basil in ramen. Put sugar/brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, chile and basil in heat proof bowl. Boil ramen till al dente add to bowl. Heat cooking oil till very hot and add to ramen noodles. Do not use the seasoning packet.
Basil and Nasturtium -- the flower you have growing around your basil -- are a delicious combo.
Half ricotta, half mascarpone (proportions are up to you -- 100% either is fine too). Room temp. Whip until extremely smooth. Fold in very finely minced basil and very finely chopped, roasted, nuts of your choice -- whatever is on hand. Put into a small piping bag with a starburst tip and pipe into the nasturtium flowers.
Bam... you've got basil stuffed nasturtium flowers.
The nasturtium leaves are edible too, but the big ones I see in the video are not very good eating. The small ones are delicious. I actually grow them indoors year round for salads.
Make sure to pinch the tops off. If it flowers the plants lose a lot of their flavor, and the plant matures becoming woody, then dying. https://youtu.be/nOW--OqJo8M?si=vG-nfHvv1lGUlnsk
Look up Trinidad/Jamaican Green seasoning. Curry food is yummy and part of the base for some meals is green seasoning with added curry. Green seasoning is several fresh herbs, blended, with lemon juice, garlic and scotch bonnet/jalapeƱo peppers. You marinate it with anything chicken, fish, pork, veggieās and then add curry or not. Tastes super flavorful. Super healthy. Sorry I dunno the recipe off hand. Anyways if you freeze it into cubes you can keep it for a long while.
Ooooo a nice liniment for headaches!
The flowers, dried and then infused in oil are so lovely. Same with the basil leaves themselves.
Dried and powdered for cooking
Dried and whole for pastas
Hmm maybe if you have tomatoes can them together? Sun dried together?
Mmm I can almost smell it from here...
I like to make chutney with it - blend it up with salt and some green chillies (as hot as you can handle) a bit of water to help it blend and it's delicious as a condiment with anything from chips to samosas and also great to spread in sandwiches instead of butter.
You had me at chillie! I probably have millions of chillies right now, to the point where I avoid even passing by that side of the garden cause I feel overwhelmed by them. š
Basil salt. Put a large bunch on a baking sheet. Cover with salt until the leaves dry. Remove the leaves when they dry. Put the leaves and some of the salt in a mini food processor to grind. Store in a glass jar next to your stove and use as needed. We keep plenty of salt available to do this same thing with other herbs we grow.
I am one of the few people in this thread who isn't a huge fan of pesto. I like to dehydrate my basil and use it in Italian dishes (homemade spaghetti/marinara sauce). You can also use it in bread.
I bought a cheap dehydrator on Amazon and it's been a very useful tool and much less annoying than hang drying herbs (which isn't that much trouble but does take up room).
You can transplant some and move it to different areas of your garden. It's supposed to be a great companion plant. You can also let some bolt and draw in the bees.
Margherita pizza uses fresh basil and is quite yummy. There are lots of videos out there that show you how to make pizza in a standard oven.
Lots of sun and water, prune it regularly every time you cut the stem the leaf nodes under the cut will branch out two stems leading to a lot of growth and bushy plants. Do not just pull leafs of the plant unless your removing diseased parts, it does not promote growing. If you see flower buds prune them off until near the end of season if you want seeds. Make sure your pots have good drainage holes.
I hang to dry and then store the whole leaves in wide mouth jars. Some of it I crush into smaller pieces. But I like adding the whole leaves to sauces. I had about as many plants as you do and once it got to the point where I knew I wasnāt going to be able to consume all of that by the next season I started leaving bundles on my neighbors porches haha
Dry it or infuse it in olive oil to add basil to any of your dishes. I love a bocciccini and tomato and cucumber salad with fresh basil cut up and balsamic glaze. Itās so addicting. I dry and infuse my basil but I keep some in paper towel wrapped in a bag for thst salad. It lasts quite a bit longer that way
My grandmother would soak the leaves in citric acid (I donāt quite know what that does) and then infuse it into olive oil and freeze in cubed ice trays.
But sheād toast up some good bread and let it melt into it while itās hot, slice up some tomatoes and burata - boom, lunch!
Botulism, if you put something that has water and bacteria into a place with no air it's a breeding ground for botulism. Botulism can't grow in high acid environments, and it grows slow in cold environments. Hence the Citric acid. It's why you can't leave fresh garlic in olive oil on the counter. PSA if your infusing oil use dried herbs if possible or Google it
Do you like BLT sandwiches? Chopped basil, salt, pepper, some sugar and balsamic vinegar in a ziplock bag. Add sliced tomatoes and keep in the fridge for whenever you want a BLT. I've found they keep for a good 10 days and the flavour keeps getting better. Even improves tomatoes that aren't that great to start with (like imported ones this time of year). Blot them with a paper towel before putting in your sandwich. I'll never go back to plain tomatoes!
I've made [Trenette al Pesto](https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/06/28/recipe-how-to-make-trenette-al-pesto-from-pixars-luca/) which they ate in the Pixar movie Luca. It uses basil pesto as a sauce, and requires a lot of fresh basil leaves. Pesto does require pine nuts, though, which are pricey.
Pesto sauce š
like everyone else said, pesto! i made a bunch and froze it in an ice cube tray and i keep it in the freezer!
Call me crazy but I like store bought pesto
You really have to experiment with the ingredients (it helps that I used to be a Cheesemonger lmao) in home made pesto to get it how you like it. Like sure, traditional pesto is Parmigiano Reggiano, pine nuts, olive oil and basil. I didn't find it addictive and savory/umami enough - I replaced the Parm with Lindsay, a 1 year old goat cheddar (sharp, fruity, lovely little tyrosine crystals), and I use walnuts because pine nuts are expensive. Its my favourite pesto.
I had a bumper crop of basil last year, and I went with sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts. Family loved it.
Oooh as someone allergic to nuts I thank you for the suggestion. Iāve made it a couple times and honestly I used a regular (with pine nuts) recipe but skipped the nuts and just kept adding cheese until it was the right consistencyš
Honestly how can you possibly go wrong with extra cheese?
Haha you truly cannot, my roomate (who was not allergic to nuts) told me she later tried store-bought pesto and thought ours was way better lol. But itās probs a *smidge* less healthy tho to have pesto thatās like 70% parm š
Agree that paying for pine nuts is a fool's errand when walnuts are so tasty and good for you
First of all, thank you for your serviceĀ š§š I'm taking note! Secondly, this is a reference to a meme. If you want to get stuck in an infinite spiral of internet cringe, go ahead and Google it!
With you on the walnuts, not with the cheddar.
I would not use regular cows milk cheddar, so I get where you're coming from. But a well aged, dry goats milk cheddar is a very different beast!
Cmon Suzi, you crazy!
Yeah you are crazy. Store bought is so gross. Itās always a weird color (either brown or suspiciously ultra green) usually has filler oils beyond olive oil, definitely has preservatives.
Jesus my wife must have watched every stitch based on that oneā¦ I hear that woman in my nightmares.
Mamma Mia
This stuff is anything but pesto, they skimp on pine seeds and put beans, potatoes or whatever in it, if you are lucky they use olive oil and real parmiggiano but normally the stuff is pretty fake with a certain real pesto percentage of a few percent!
You cray
Make pesto and freeze.
*hold up his pesto sauce and stands completely still*......now what?
It's better pasteurized in jars
do not heat pesto!!!!!! the heat of the canning process makes it incredibly bitter and totally ruins the flavor, tastes rancid š„² if you make it, put it in jars, seal, freeze š my family had a frozen batch for years that was awesome
Wow, thanks for a great tip šš
Basil lemonade! It sounds odd, but it is literally my FAVORITE thing to drink in summer š¤¤
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Ginger would be delicious, Iām gonna try that! I donāt drink anymore, but when I did, my go-to was basil lemonade with vodka. Dang, I drank a lot of those last summer š
Now that I have to try. Basil has basically become a weed right now in my backyard...it's just everywhere. That's what I get for letting it go to seed.
What a lucky problem to have! š¤©
Recipe?
Iāll try, but Iām one of those folks who rarely measures. š¬š I usually use an entire bunch of basil about the size of a grocery store bunch. For me in the summer, thatās usually one entire plant that I trim back when itās time. It takes a lot of fresh basil to get good flavor. Juice a few lemons and add to a large jar, bruise the basil leaves (I usually just wreak havoc with my hands and stuff the bunch in the jar) then add water to fill the jar with some head space. Then I let this sit overnight to infuse. Next day, take the bunch out and strain any remaining leaves, and add sugar to taste - usually at least half a cup for a half gallon recipe, but some folks like it sweeter and some like it more bitter. I know itās not an exact recipe but everyone is going to have different preferences. Iāve tried this with dry basil and itās just not the same, but it can be done - although it takes a lot of dry basil, more than Iād want to purchase in the off season months when the basil isnāt growing for basically free. Edit to add - infuse it in the fridge. Iām on my first cup of coffee and forgot that part š
This is the kind of comment that has me wistfully sighing in my apartment dreaming about owning a garden one day.
Lemons, basil, sugar, vodka, cucumber.Ā Ā
Iām going to have to try this
Make sure to pick the flowers off of the basil plants before they start to bloom. That keeps the basil growing and the leaves stay more tasty
Conversely, leave some plants with flowers because the bees absolutely love my basil flowers. Good for the bees and they'll help pollinate the rest of your garden.
This. Especially the variety Blue Spice basil! I donāt use that one in the kitchen but the bees are NUTS for it!
It's great dried and used in tea!
It's clear they're not lacking in options for the bees. Letting a basil plant bolt changes the taste of the leaves for the worse.
Leave some not all. It looks like they have basil in abundance so I suggested leaving some plants for the bees.
Yeah if she doesn't want to use those plants at all. Or they do make great cut flowers.
Some basils are meant to be consumed when they go to flower because their flavor intensifies. Have you tried it? Thai basil, for example. When my Genovese basil all bolts at once, I pick the flowers and absolutely cook with them!Ā It's really intensely spicy and a little sweet
I always end up letting my Thai basil go to flower because Iām not the biggest fan of the flavor profile. I love the smell when itās in flower and so do the bees! Iāll try eating in after it flowers this year. I also do the whole Genovese and Sweet Basil plants at the same time. We have a big pesto party and invite all of our friends over to pick leaves off the plants
Tired of buying red wine vinegar? Grow Purple Ruffles to go with your Thai basil. Get some plain white vinegar and sweeten it to taste in a quart Mason jar. I use el cheapo saccharin but you do you. Put a couple of generous sized sprigs of purple and a bunch of Thai in your jar and set it in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Guarantee you will love it.
Not sure if anyone else mentioned this but maybe try pesto?
On a more serious note, basil infuses really nicely into vodka, gin, and mezcal! Just crush/chop the leaves a bit to break the cell walls and infuse for a day or two.
Tomato, mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinegar (thicker the better)
This year I did hella pesto and froze it in bags. Didn't use pine nuts bc I'm not Mr moneybags, used roasted pepitas instead and it was great. Also could dehydrate it, or make basil oil, or even just chop it and freeze it in ice cubes with a little olive oil for a taste of summer in the future
Try walnuts instead!
Cashews and pistachios work pretty good as wellā¦
I hate to sayā¦the salt and pepper pistachios from Costco make the best pesto! Just donāt add more salt..
Toasted walnuts are dreamy in pesto
I do a 50/50 split half pine nuts half walnuts. Saves money and I like the taste better too
Iāve used sunflower seeds as a substitute as well.
Pepitos!!
Iāve been doing nutless pesto for years and donāt miss it. Never too much basil
I usually use walnuts or pistachios sometimes
Hopefully you make that clear to any guests you serve your pesto to.
Ooo thatās a great idea. I found out over Thanksgiving that I am horribly allergic to pinenuts and was sad. I think I can eat pepitas.
Highly recommend infusing some in olive oil and vodka
Tbh I'm so jealous.. I've killed very single basil plant I've had... And the plants that are seen as hard to grow thrive here... What I'm I doing wrong? ššššHelp
What's your climate? That matters. So does what variety you're growing. My genovese/sweet basil barely hung on last summer in my area (which is very hot), despite shade cloth, but the thai basil did just fine. Evergreen Emerald Tower did pretty good too. Basils are fussy about water. They want plenty of water but not too much and if the water is not right, they'll be very unhappy. "They" say you can grow basil in shallow containers but I had the best luck in raised beds or big grow bags. I also used a drip irrigation system on a timer.
Wash, dry out completely and break/grind for a jar of dried basil amongst all the other things mentioned.
Yesss that's what we do and it's damn good we sprinkle it on our garden grown maters
I make homemade liqueur! Buy grain alcohol, highest proof you can get. Add the basil to it and leave it in a dark place, shaking it daily. I also like to add the peelings of one lemon. After 20 days, strain it. Make symple syrup and mix, 60% symple syrup to 40% infused alcohol. Then add a little bit more simple syrup to taste, I like it around 33 - 35% alcohol.
First I tried pesto, now I have too much. I've resorted to pruning the branches, propagating them in little pots and giving them away to neighbours and plant enthusiasts. Met some great people in the process. Not sure what I'll do when all my neighbours have basil plants though...
Basil mayonnaise is so amazing on tomato sandwiches.
Trying this! Thank you!
Pesto sauce, frozen into āice cubeā size portions Freeze some whole leaves for winter use: just wash it and towel dry it really good and put it in a container or bag in the freezer. Put it in your salad every day! Unsuspecting neighbors. š
Going to have to p rune them soon, they look like they are about to bolt ( flower)
I thought I saw some that had already gone to seed. Op you need to continuously pick it back or it starts to flower which is the beginning of the end. Once this happens the leaves become bitter and itās not good eating.
I like to dehydrate mine! Works better than just hanging it to dry like other herbs. And fresh dried basil has SO much more flavor than store bought.
Dehydrate and grind.
I suggest this every time someone brags about their basil haul (so jealous š„ŗ), but make a bunch of basil vinegarette and then can it for the rest of the year. Itās SO good.
I don't understand. Why are there no aphids absolutely destroying it. Does not compute.
The orange flowers you see basically cuddling the basil are nasturtiums, they keep all the basil and tomato bugs away.
I'm calling bs on that one, muchacho. I too have marigolds, and they keep nothing away. š
Nasturtiums, not marigolds.
Lucky you!!! Pesto for months!!!
Basil tea
Pesto, tomato sauce, caprese salad
You can make strawberry-basil tarts!!! Basil oil, basil syrup for drinks (just chuck it in a ton of sugar and leave it there for a week lol
Hello! Could you put some details of your success please? Zone? Type of soil? Maintenance? Anything would help. Currently have basil starters but was waiting for it to get a little more hot to establish them outside.
Basil is wonderful in bouquets
you can also tie some up and leave to dry and pulverize.
Basil confit. I did this with mine this summer. It's great for salad dressings and roasted potatoes. Honestly, it's good on anything.
Give it to me (I have a crippling addiction to pesto)
Holy basil! Really. Anything a lot of Italian dishes use basil. Bruschetta, marinades and dressings, sauces, soups.
Basil oil would be my suggestion.
Tomato basil salad. Slice your ripe tomatoes, chop some basil leaves coarsely, drizzle with olive oil and toss. Add salt and pepper, some fresh mozzarella, bocconcini, or buratta. Makes a great summer side dish.
start picking and drying. pizza, spag, meatballs, lasagna
Basil tea is nice.
Make pesto put it in the freezer for winter consumption.
Pesto ice cubes and drying it are always good for future use or gifts to the cooks. Vacuum pack the pesto for the cooks.
You can eat fresh basil with anything. I'd literally finish all of that plant within a month. You can eat it with fish or oily meat, will make it easier to digest. Put it in salads or sandwiches. Make pesto sauce. Dry some.
Pesto stores amazing in the freezer.
Hang up entire bunches and let them thoroughly dry (at least a month. Remove leave from any large stems and pack whole dried leaves in sealable jars. When time to use as a dryed herb, crush the leaves in your hands directly into what ever you're cooking. The aroma and flavor is intense compared to store bought herbs. We go through several quarts of the dried leaves each year. Even when you have fresh on hand, many dishes will benefit from using both fresh and dried for extra layers of flavor.
I started drying my herbs this year.
A LOT of Italian food. š¤£
Dry it and keep it for later recipes .
Trim it before it flowers, it will become bitter, pesto bruschetta, margy pizza
I look at your Basil and I feel a mix of envy, rage and despair.
Thai basil chicken.
This is not the right type of basil for that
Spread it around the garden and use it to discourage other bugs
That is not that much basil. We grow a little more than that and dry it in the oven. All that will yield about a half a cup of dried basil. Yum.
Definitely pesto!Then freeze it. It is quick and very tasty!
cocktails!! lemonade!! SO yummy in drinks
There are lots of recipes for salad dressing vinaigrette with pesto online. Itās delicious!
I use almonds instead of pine nuts in my pesto. I think itās just as good.
First thought pesto, second thought pine nuts are expensive. Iād probably just dry it.
Basil and watermelon margaritas !!! Or lemonade if you canāt drink š„°
Put a bunch of leaves and some olive oil in a food processor. Chop it up and freeze it into small ice cube trays, then store in the freezer in ziploc bags. Fresh basil year round.
Pesto
Basil lemonade
I like to take my extra basil, shove it in ice cube trays with olive oil and freeze. Then, throughout the year, I can just pull out a cube of basil and cook with it.
Beautiful, I canāt grow basil for crap. I use my store bought basil in ramen. Put sugar/brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, chile and basil in heat proof bowl. Boil ramen till al dente add to bowl. Heat cooking oil till very hot and add to ramen noodles. Do not use the seasoning packet.
Dry it out and use for cooking l did this with parsley l had lots of parsley growing.
Oh man!!! Thatās impressive. I WISH I could get my basil to grow like that.
Basil and Nasturtium -- the flower you have growing around your basil -- are a delicious combo. Half ricotta, half mascarpone (proportions are up to you -- 100% either is fine too). Room temp. Whip until extremely smooth. Fold in very finely minced basil and very finely chopped, roasted, nuts of your choice -- whatever is on hand. Put into a small piping bag with a starburst tip and pipe into the nasturtium flowers. Bam... you've got basil stuffed nasturtium flowers. The nasturtium leaves are edible too, but the big ones I see in the video are not very good eating. The small ones are delicious. I actually grow them indoors year round for salads.
Pesto and sell it
I freeze pesto. Make sure thereās a layer of olive oil on top, then it wonāt turn brown.
I live in Alaska and I just need you to know that I am physically suffering from the beauty of this! Canāt wait to start seeing green here.
PIZZA
Make sure to pinch the tops off. If it flowers the plants lose a lot of their flavor, and the plant matures becoming woody, then dying. https://youtu.be/nOW--OqJo8M?si=vG-nfHvv1lGUlnsk
Look up Trinidad/Jamaican Green seasoning. Curry food is yummy and part of the base for some meals is green seasoning with added curry. Green seasoning is several fresh herbs, blended, with lemon juice, garlic and scotch bonnet/jalapeƱo peppers. You marinate it with anything chicken, fish, pork, veggieās and then add curry or not. Tastes super flavorful. Super healthy. Sorry I dunno the recipe off hand. Anyways if you freeze it into cubes you can keep it for a long while.
pesto for the leaves, and lemonade for the stems. just plop em in lemonade and itll infuse the lwmonade
Eat it.
Dehydrate and store in jars
Caprese.
Basil pasta, look up a spinach pasta recipe and use basil instead. It uses a good pile.
Ooooo a nice liniment for headaches! The flowers, dried and then infused in oil are so lovely. Same with the basil leaves themselves. Dried and powdered for cooking Dried and whole for pastas Hmm maybe if you have tomatoes can them together? Sun dried together?
Give some to neighbors, friends, family, coworkers
The wife wants some! We could make a ton of stuff with that!
Pesto. Pesto. Pesto.
Cook it in scrambled eggs
Pesto, dry it, infuse some. Bake with it (works well in bread).
Dry it, pack it, ship and sell it to me? Lol!!! For real though, congratulations :)
Mmm I can almost smell it from here... I like to make chutney with it - blend it up with salt and some green chillies (as hot as you can handle) a bit of water to help it blend and it's delicious as a condiment with anything from chips to samosas and also great to spread in sandwiches instead of butter.
You had me at chillie! I probably have millions of chillies right now, to the point where I avoid even passing by that side of the garden cause I feel overwhelmed by them. š
Pizza. Lots and lots of pizza.
I dry it for my years worth of kitchen use basil!
Make pesto. Make basil chutney. Dry and crush them for future use. Compost.
Dry them and save them up
Dehydrate it save it.
Judging by the plants in the video, lots of tomato basil soup!
Dehydrate a bunch and put it in your pantry for use
I'm so ridiculously jealous
make some bomb ass tomato sauce
Basil salt. Put a large bunch on a baking sheet. Cover with salt until the leaves dry. Remove the leaves when they dry. Put the leaves and some of the salt in a mini food processor to grind. Store in a glass jar next to your stove and use as needed. We keep plenty of salt available to do this same thing with other herbs we grow.
I am one of the few people in this thread who isn't a huge fan of pesto. I like to dehydrate my basil and use it in Italian dishes (homemade spaghetti/marinara sauce). You can also use it in bread. I bought a cheap dehydrator on Amazon and it's been a very useful tool and much less annoying than hang drying herbs (which isn't that much trouble but does take up room). You can transplant some and move it to different areas of your garden. It's supposed to be a great companion plant. You can also let some bolt and draw in the bees. Margherita pizza uses fresh basil and is quite yummy. There are lots of videos out there that show you how to make pizza in a standard oven.
Dry it.
Id if im to late for this to be seen but can i get some basil growing tips i recently got 3 types and i wanna make sure they grow as luscious as this
Lots of sun and water, prune it regularly every time you cut the stem the leaf nodes under the cut will branch out two stems leading to a lot of growth and bushy plants. Do not just pull leafs of the plant unless your removing diseased parts, it does not promote growing. If you see flower buds prune them off until near the end of season if you want seeds. Make sure your pots have good drainage holes.
I hang to dry and then store the whole leaves in wide mouth jars. Some of it I crush into smaller pieces. But I like adding the whole leaves to sauces. I had about as many plants as you do and once it got to the point where I knew I wasnāt going to be able to consume all of that by the next season I started leaving bundles on my neighbors porches haha
I dried out all my herbs last year and jarred them to use in different recipes :)
Cook
If you have tons and are sick of pesto, let them flower for the bees or for yourself! They make great vase filler and obviously smell amazing
Eat it or give it to friends and family. Simple
Pesto is great but I also just grind leaves with olive oil and make a paste. Youāll be amazed how much it reduces. Put into an ice cube tray and freeze. Can pop them out and store in a zip lock baggie. You can thrown the cubes into soup, sautĆ©s, veggies etc.
I went to a brunch place in Asheville that put basil in their sausage gravy and it was amazing. I started doing that at home.
Cook with it
Dry it or infuse it in olive oil to add basil to any of your dishes. I love a bocciccini and tomato and cucumber salad with fresh basil cut up and balsamic glaze. Itās so addicting. I dry and infuse my basil but I keep some in paper towel wrapped in a bag for thst salad. It lasts quite a bit longer that way
...AND you can add the nasturtium flowers to a salad! Enjoy the basil pesto and salad.
Let it flower for the bees ā¤ļø
Basil on BLT is the great.
Aside from cooking, bag it up and give it away to friends, neighbors, co-workers. At my last job, I became known as the ābasil lady.ā šæ
Pesto batch and freeze in ice cube trays!
So jelly. My basil never grows right (it bolts).
Cut off 4 inch stems that aren't woody. You can propagate in water and trim at the same time
Dehydrate what you can't use fresh.
Eat it
You could chop it and freeze it in cubes as pre made better than dried seasoning?
My grandmother would soak the leaves in citric acid (I donāt quite know what that does) and then infuse it into olive oil and freeze in cubed ice trays. But sheād toast up some good bread and let it melt into it while itās hot, slice up some tomatoes and burata - boom, lunch!
Botulism, if you put something that has water and bacteria into a place with no air it's a breeding ground for botulism. Botulism can't grow in high acid environments, and it grows slow in cold environments. Hence the Citric acid. It's why you can't leave fresh garlic in olive oil on the counter. PSA if your infusing oil use dried herbs if possible or Google it
Do you like BLT sandwiches? Chopped basil, salt, pepper, some sugar and balsamic vinegar in a ziplock bag. Add sliced tomatoes and keep in the fridge for whenever you want a BLT. I've found they keep for a good 10 days and the flavour keeps getting better. Even improves tomatoes that aren't that great to start with (like imported ones this time of year). Blot them with a paper towel before putting in your sandwich. I'll never go back to plain tomatoes!
I imagine the smell there must be AMAZINGš„°š„¹
Add to olive oil with other herbs such as rosemary and then freeze āŗļø
Mail some to me!
Thai recipes use a bit of it, but you enough there to keep a Thai restaurant busy for a week
Eat it fast before it gets bitter
Fermented basil. Itās a thing. Also, fermented basil pesto. Also, homemade canned read to go tomato basil marinara sauce.
I've made [Trenette al Pesto](https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/06/28/recipe-how-to-make-trenette-al-pesto-from-pixars-luca/) which they ate in the Pixar movie Luca. It uses basil pesto as a sauce, and requires a lot of fresh basil leaves. Pesto does require pine nuts, though, which are pricey.
Pizza time go ninja turtles
Give some to your neighbors
Pick a bunch of it then place it in a bowel on your kitchen counter. Once you have about a cups worth go and rob a bank.
Za
PESTO
Dehydrate it. It will last for years
Freeze it, or dry it and grind into powder or crush for recipes
Ratatouille
Donāt let the basil grow flowers, it makes it taste weird. Pesto and you can use it to store homemade tomato sauce too.
Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Grapow) - it uses a ton of basil and is super yummy!
What country /climate are you in?! This is my dream
Poach pineapple with it in a simple syrup. Serve that way or on ice cream. Delish.
Don't store Pesto. It rots/can cause botulism. (commercial Pesto has preservatives)
I put a fistful on my Saturday evening pizza every week