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This Week's Theme: Favorite Ingredients - Basil(Recipes courtesy of Worldwide Recipes) This year's batch of basil plants is off to a good start
in my herb garden, and some of them are big enough already to volunteer some
leaves to the kitchen. It occurred to me that I have never devoted a week of
recipes to a single herb, so this week I intend to correct that oversight with
some recipes
featuring my most favorite herb of all. Here is the lineup: Recipes below:
Pesto Cream Cheese Spread 1/2 cup (125 ml) pesto Genovese (see below), or more to taste 16 oz (445 g) cream cheese at room temperature Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to combine thoroughly. Serve chilled with raw vegetables, bread, or crackers. Makes about 2 cups (500 ml). It's hard to eat in a good restaurant these days without running across some sort of "pesto" made with turnip greens and pistachios, or rhubarb and gorgonzola, or some such misguided attempt at originality on the part of the chef. This recipe is the one that started all that, and there is nothing better than the real thing. It is traditionally served as a sauce for pasta, but it also livens up vegetables and soups, and is great spread on toast as an appetizer . This sauce will keep for months in the freezer, so you might consider making multiple batches. Pesto Genovese 2 cups (500 ml) fresh basil leaves 1/2 cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup (125 ml) freshly grated Parmesan cheese 3 Tbs (45 ml) pine nuts (pignoli) 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1 tsp (5 ml) salt, or to taste Combine all ingredients in and electric blender and process until smooth, stopping the blender once or twice to scrape down the sides of the jar. When serving with pasta, "loosen" the sauce with a little bit of the boiling water from the pasta pot. Makes about 2 cups (500 ml), or enough for about 6 servings of pasta.
This classic Italian salad is not only one of the best
salads to be found anywhere, but it is also one of the simplest. As with any
simple dish, the quality of the ingredients will determine the quality of the
dish, so be sure to use fresh mozzarella, the best ripe tomatoes, and the most
expensive olive oil you can afford. Naturally, the basil must be freshly picked,
preferably from your own garden if possible.
Let's face it, any vegetable tastes better
with a healthy helping of butter and cream, and corn is no exception. This dish
gets a second dose of added flavor from basil.
Frittate are usually served as the second course
(secondi) of a meal, but they also make wonderful breakfast, brunch, and
luncheon dishes.
Tomatoes for dessert? Why not? After all, tomatoes are fruits (botanically speaking) and, paired with their favorite herb, they make a sweet and tangy finish for a summer meal. Tomato-Basil Sorbet About 3 lbs (1350 g) fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled,
seeded, and chopped Puree the tomatoes in an electric food processor or blender and strain through a fine sieve to make 3 cups (750 ml) tomato juice. Combine 1 cup (250 ml) of the juice with the sugar and basil in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Strain the mixture and stir in the remaining tomato juice and lemon juice. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Makes about 1 quart (1 L).
Recipes reproduced with permission of Worldwide Recipes. Worldwide Recipes, the world's largest daily recipe service, delivers a free recipe by email every day-a complete gourmet menu every week. Subscribe by sending a blank email to Subscribe@wwrecipes.com or by visiting http://www.wwrecipes.com. It's easy, and it's FREE!
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