Bountiful Basil

I think the smell of fresh basil is one of the best things on earth! Especially when accompanied by a ripe juicy tomato and a crusty, fresh-baked loaf. Owning a restaurant I am fortunate in that we buy fresh basil weekly so I always have access to it for my favourite recipes. But in my home kitchen, I am not so lucky. In theory, you can have fresh basil all year round in your kitchen window, but in case – like me – you cannot seem to keep it alive past a few weeks, there is a great way to preserve it for use all year long.

The best way I’ve found to preserve basil is to put it on ice. For use in soups, sauces and general cooking tastiness you can freeze herbs in ice trays for the winter. Herbs such as Basil (and Parsley too) don’t dry as well as herbs like Sage, Thyme, Rosemary and Oregano – if you want access to these cooking essentials all year long without having to visit your local supermarket you can try freezing them. Try this: Put a large handful of Basil in the food processor or blender and then gently coat with good quality extra virgin olive oil. This will prevent your Basil from drying out when it is frozen. Blend the Basil and oil until the basil is finely chopped and then using a spoon place the basil and oil mixture into an ice tray and put it into the freezer. These herby ice cubes will keep for months in the freezer. So although you may not get the scent of fresh basil – you will at least the freshness of basil every time you cook!

If you can get your hands on a large amount of basil now, you might also want to try making a pesto. One of our vegetarian dishes, Filo Pastry filled with Barley, Black Olives, Red Peppers, Walnuts & Feta Cheese, uses a basil sauce, which is very like a pesto, and is a delicious use for this abundant herb. Here’s the recipe if you fancy giving it a go yourself.

Basil Sauce Recipe:

Onions
Skinned Fresh Tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Fresh Garlic,
Chilli, Salt, Pepper, Chilli

Sauté some onions then add chopped tomatoes and garlic. Season with salt, pepper and chilli to your taste. Boil for few minutes then add chopped basil leaves.

Yummy!