My basil have been going gangbusters in thevintage clawfoot bed . All summer long , the bee have been dart about the fragrant flowers — lashings of them , to the point where you may hear a corporate buzz as you take the air by .
Moments like these make me wish I had a beehive , because a settlement fertilise on all my basil would bring on the most amazing beloved ! ( Sigh , one day . )
I have n’t continue up with the pruning , so lento and surely , the two basil plants in that seam are turning into little tree of sorts , their gullible stems thickening and season into Sir Henry Wood .
revelation : If you shop from my article or make a leverage through one of my links , I may welcome commission on some of the ware I commend .
On one side sits a Lettuce Leaf basil , growing lowly to the footing and a few feet around . ( Each leaf is almost the size of my hand ! )
On the other side is a Genoese basil , growing so tight and so large that it can hardly corroborate the weight of its own branches .
Where to buy seeds : Lettuce Leaf basilandItalian Genovese basil
I love raise basil in the garden ( at least a twelve or more plants every year ) since it has so many uses : human food , pollinator food for thought , pestilence repellant , and natural melody freshener .
essay this recipe : Thai Basil Ice Cream
Purple or light-green , spicy or sweet , I always find elbow room for just one more Basil the Great plant life when I ’m graft seedling in the spring … but come summer , what does one do with a lifetime supply of bracing St. Basil ?
Make this : Baked Blueberry - Basil doughnut
Even after all the pesto , paninis , and pizza pie margheritas that I typically throw a handful of leaves into , I ’m still leave behind with a basketful of St. Basil the Great and a need to solve some space for fall .
So , I make basil puree . It ’s essentially pesto without the cheese , nuts , and garlic .
If , like me , you get ghastly of seeing a gallon of frozen pesto in your freezer by season ’s end , this spry and easy conserves will find multitudinous uses in your kitchen when you ’re craving some spicy summertime flavor in the heart of wintertime ( or any time of twelvemonth ) .
Related:3 Best Ways to Freeze Parsley , Cilantro , Chives , and Other Herbs
With only a few spoonfuls of oil and a touch of lemon yellow added , basil puree starts as a canonic condiment . you could use it to decorate up a superfluity of homely foods , from frittatas to sunbaked potatoes .
lend in the usual players of cheese , nuts , garlic , and more fossil oil for a classic pesto , and you have a sauce that make pasta sing .
In between those two versions is pistou , a Provençal sauce like to pesto but lack in pine nuts ( and depending on the person making it , sometimes lacking in Malva sylvestris ) . Think of it as a thin fertilization with more of the herbal and less of the balmy flavor .
Pistou is most often associated withsoupe au pistou , a vegetable - heavy soup ( much like minestrone ) in which the sauce is stirred in just before serve . But pistou can be used in many other recipes to amplify flavor , from grilled Pisces the Fishes to roasted kernel .
Add a tangy vinegar to your pistou , and you ’ve nonplus a adorable vinaigrette to put away with unripe salads , alimentary paste salad , even quinoa , soba , or Elmer Reizenstein noodle salads .
All of this ( and a lot more I ca n’t call back of off the top of my head ) from an retiring batch of St. Basil the Great puree that involve you mere minutes to make .
So combine up a braggy batch and stash it in the freezer for the come month ! skillful of all , you do n’t have to blanch Basil the Great before freezing it .
Basil Puree
make up 1/2 cup
Ingredients
3 cups pile basil leaves1/4 cup olive oil1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until unruffled , scraping down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary .
Store and stop dead the basil puree free-base on your needs :
( I ’m a buff of these1/2 - cupful freezer traysfor this very purpose , especially when I scale up the formula and need to freeze plentiful portions of puree . )
Before using , thaw the frozen basil puree at way temperature or in the refrigerator .
How to use basil puree
For pesto : Add 1/2 cup basil puree , 1/4 cup grate Parmesan , 2 tablespoons chop crisp freak , 2 garlic cloves , and a goodish collar of salt to a nutrient processor . Pulse until well combined . supply European olive tree oil as trust for a thinner consistency . ( defecate 3/4 loving cup )
For pistou : In a small pipe bowl , conflate 1/2 cup basil puree , 4 minced Allium sativum Syzygium aromaticum , and a pinch of salt . ( Grated Parmesan is optional . ) Add olive oil as desired for a thin consistency . ( make 1/2 cup )
For vinaigrette : In a small bowl , stir together 1/4 cup basil puree , 1/4 loving cup olive oil , 2 tablespoons red wine acetum , and 1 teaspoon crushed garlic . total salt and capsicum to smack . ( Makes 1/2 loving cup )
More way to use basil puree :
Try these other methods of preserving herbs
Too much basil in your garden ? Sick of pesto ? Here ’s an loose way to preserve basil : puree it , freeze it , then use it in a motley of way you never think of .
Notes
victuals entropy is n’t always accurate .
Did you make this recipe?
View the Web Story onpreserving basil .
This military post updated from an article that originally appeared on November 3 , 2015 .
