basil

lmr9

Yesterday I bought this GIANT bunch of fresh basil at a local farmer's market for $2 (score!). I don't want any of it to go to waste. Ideas of how I can use it?...or preserve it for future use?

katzav

pesto! yummm!

fteale

Make pesto - basil, pine nuts, parmesan, lots of olive oil, a little salt and some garlic. Whizzed up. It lasts about a month.

sister_bear

If you can't use it up, you can portion it into ziploc bags and freeze it. I used to do this when I had a herb garden.

sophiessweets

Try adding a few leaves to your salads and sandwiches. Or how about sliced tomato, avocado and basil on multigrain crackers?

modernfemme

One of my fav. sandwiches: Basil, Tomato, and Mozzarella. Check out this easy to make recipe -

I tend to use a low-calorie bread.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Basil-Tomato-and-Mozzarella-Sandwich/Detail.aspx

bjenny12345

Pesto freezes well too, also I love basil on salads, in red sauce over noodles, on sandwiches in place of lettuce. With tomatoes and mozzarella for a snack, it is one of my favorite herbs!

melaniecheeks

Insalata tricolore - tomatoes,mozarella and basil. I like to make this on little cocktail sticks as an appetiser with a mozarella pearl, half a cherry tomato and a basil leaf threaded on each stick.

miriamtorason

Also! What I used to do when we would get huge bunches of herbs was to use one of my fridge magnets (I have some that have clips, like for large bunches of paper) to hang the herb I wasn't going to use from the fridge - in a day or two, you can take it down and crumble it, then you don't have to buy dried basil (or whatever you're using) from the store, either!

art4fun69

Love basil in my scrambled eggs or omlets--ummmm YUM. Cant wait for my herb garden to start producing.

lesliefoste

Pesto is one of my favorite things to make with fresh basil, but it's pretty high-calorie. Here's a lower cal recipe that I just got from a friend. I haven't tried it yet, but she said it's really good.

4 garlic cloves, peeled
3 cups fresh basil leaves
1 oz. parmesean cheese
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 minced shallot
2 T olive oil

Blend it all together and toss your pasta with it. I like to add chicken to mine for some extra protein.

thebirchtree

Fresh Basil is lovely in a Tomato sauce

Laura_beau

Fresh basil goes well with thai/vientames style dishes, salads, curries & stir fries.

Add it to a turkey/pork/chicken stir fry with thai green curry paste, a little coconut milk, zucchini, eggplant, green beans, spring onions & garnish with fresh basil and corriander (cilantro).

Look up some thai larb (ground meat salad with fresh herbs) in lettuce wraps- yummmmmm!!

rachelowow

Basil goes great in a silken tofu shakes with lemon!!

theladebug

Basil is also wonderful in spring rolls. Take rice paper wrappers and fill with fresh veggies, basil and cooled cooked shrimp. Dip in either soy or mix soy with a little peanut butter & a little water to make a super fast super easy peanut sauce

Picola1984

You can freeze it!

kje2011

bump
I grew basil in my little garden last year. I did make pesto and froze it in icecube trays. when I needed it, voila, just put one or two cubes in my recipe (like spagetti sauce or a crockpot dinner)

kateanne27

I have a small basil plant and put it in just about everything, I love just tearing the leaves, and some parsley leaves in a spinach salad, I also put the leaves whole on fish fillets before baking them, fresh basil is great in marinades, you can also put some torn basil leaves and smashed garlic in a glass bottle with olive oil and make a yummy oil for drizzing on pasta, bread, veggies, or making baked pita chips.

fteale

I don't think it matters that pesto is quite high in cals as you use so little, it only works out at about 40 per serving. Compared to the pasta or bread you are having it on, it's negligible.