Posted Sept 22, 2011
If basil had a resume, the herb would definitely be called in for a job in the health industry.
Basil is a great source of vitamin K, iron, calcium and vitamin A. And it is a good source of dietary fiber, manganese, magnesium, vitamin C and potassium, with a host of medicinal properties. That’s not to mention the wonderful fragrance and color it adds to food. With basil being so easy to grow and buy fresh or dried at the market, it should be easy to add a little to your diet every day.
But what do you do with it?
We asked readers this question recently. Here are some of the great ideas and recipes we received:
Carlyn Kline, a retired physician in St. Joseph, has enjoyed cooking with basil from her garden for years, testing recipes out on her four children and husband, Edmund. She shared a number of delicious ideas with us. Mrs. Kline usually picks basil as needed, but toward the end of the season, she harvests what’s left to make basil oil and basic pesto or spinach-hazelnut pesto to use in a number of ways. Spinach-hazelnut pesto is wonderful when tossed with roasted vegetables, she says.
Spinach-hazelnut pesto
3 cups packed spinach leaves
1 cup packed basil leaves
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup skinned hazelnuts, lightly toasted
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Combine the first six ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly pour the oil into the feed tube until all is well combined.
Since you only need a few teaspoons at a time, she freezes small amounts of pesto in mini muffin pans, then just pulls out what she needs.
You also can freeze fresh basil leaves (chopped or whole) in ice cube trays, she says, then thaw them and use just like fresh.
“It doesn’t have the same texture, but it still has the fresh flavor,” she says. “It’s much better to me than the dried.”
If you will not be freezing it, fresh basil should be stored in the refrigerator wrapped in a slightly damp paper towel.
One of Mrs. Kline’s favorite recipes, eggplant pesto bake, uses basil and the eggplant she grows in her garden.
“This recipe combines several wonderful flavors and has been a hit with everyone to whom I have served it,” she says.
Eggplant pesto bake
1 large eggplant (about 1