I harvested all of my home-grown basil last weekend on a sunny, 75 degree day. It was an hour of pure fun for me since I don’t mind getting my finger nails dirty…in fact, I like it. There are so many ways to use this luscious summer herb, so a bumper crop of basil is no problem at all.
First, I washed all the leaves well — a must to remove dirt and an occasional insect. Then, I measured out many packed cups of basil leaves to make a double batch of my favorite, easy pesto recipe, shown below. Typically, I refrigerate one small container of pesto to use up within a couple days on pasta or as a spread on fish fillets just before cooking them. I freeze the rest in small, airtight containers so that my family and I can enjoy it in the months ahead.
Next, I got out snack size baggies and layered whole basil leaves into stacks of about 8-12 leaves in each one. I put them into the freezer for later. These will come in handy when I make a tomato marinara sauce, bean salad or pizza. I’ll simply get the frozen basil out of the freezer, chop it up and toss it into my pot or mixing bowl when needed. Or, I’ll sprinkle it onto a simple, homemade pizza. If you’re worried about the flavor of the basil — don’t. It is wonderful.
Finally, I saved a container of fresh basil in the refrigerator as is. I’ve enjoyed using it this week for a variety of recipes and random meal starters. One day for lunch, I added it to my sandwich instead of lettuce; one dinner, I added it to a spinach-turkey-tomato-sweet onion salad; and another dinner, I added it to leftover pasta-marinara sauce-canned tuna that was all tossed together and warmed up.
Get creative and see what you can do with your fresh herbs. Then, please share your flavorful success!
Basil Pesto Recipe – makes 1 1/4 cups
4 cloves Garlic
1/4 cup Olive oil
2 cups Fresh basil leaves, packed down
1/2 cups Walnuts
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Combine the garlic and oil in a food processor or blender. Process about 30 seconds until smooth. Add basil and nuts. Process about 1 minute until smooth. Using rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of container so that everything becomes well blended. Take mixture out of the processor or blender and place in a bowl. Add cheese and stir to mix.
Cindy,
You make it sound so easy to grow and cultivate. Maybe next year I’ll take a stab at harvesting basil in the backyard.
I found that fresh basil was great on my tomato and salami sandwich. I also had it in stir fry with mixed veggies, chicken, red onion, and soy sauce! Yum!
I’m sure having my own supply would create new inspiration. Thanks for sharing!
-Lindsay
Thanks for your comment, Lindsay! So glad you are already using fresh basil to add flavor to easy meals. I bet it will taste even better if you grow your own.
Cindy,
I have actually tried your recipe with my own grown basil.I also chopped some basil and placed in ice cubes, then let them freeze on the freezer and take them out, placem them in Ziploc bags for future use. I do this with tomatoes that are frsh grown or parsley. I basically try to use a lot of herbs in my cooking, one of them is Parsley. Parsley is a great addition to soups, meatballs,fish,spreads, salads and etc..It gives a very good smell and taste to almost any food. I would like to give you a spread recipe that I have learned from my mom.
Turkish – Walnut / Parsley Spread
1 lemon – squeezed
2 sliced bread – crumbs
2 garlic cloves
Red pepper
2/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup olive oil
2 table spoon of Italian Parsley – can be more or less
I usually place all of these into a food processor and use the pulse function and do it like 2-3 minutes. To serve it I place some more Italian parsley on the top and serve it bread.
Hope you can try it and enjoy with your friends and family.
Sinem Hurst
Thanks for sharing your kitchen experience with fresh basil and parsley, Sinem! And, the parsley spread recipe is one we will all want to try. Thanks to your mom for that!
I can never get enough fresh basil! It seems like no matter how many plants I plant we end up using it all up and wishing we had more. I also love using walnuts in place of pine nuts in my basil. thanks for the wonderful storage tips!
Thanks for your comments, Aviva! I know that feeling of wishing for more and more fresh basil. I like to experiment in my kitchen and have even used almonds as my nut ingredient in basil pesto a time or 2. It’s very tasty!
Thank you for this article. I run a website for pregnant women and right now I have a client that has to deal with pregnancy. I fear for the baby’s health so I am doing some research of how to help my client the best I can. And this has been very helpful. So yet again, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart!
You are most welcome. I’m glad the information is useful!
Hi Cindy. I grow lots of basil, too, and always make lots of pesto to freeze and have year around. Your recipe is exactly like mine except that I use pine nuts instead of walnuts. I did not realize walnuts could be used as well. Probably good as some people are allergic to pine nuts (and I happen to be allergic to walnuts!). I never have frozen the individual basil leaves but this reminds me that I must do that. So much better to have the fresh leaves on hand rather than having resort to the dried. Thanks!
Thanks for your comment, Cammy! Basil pesto is a recipe that lends itself to ‘tinkering’ with ingredients and always makes a tasty & easy meal.
Cooking can benefit you so many ways. The joy of cooking is great for your mental state and if you cook the right things its is healthy physically for you. I find the greatest challenge in cooking something healthy as well as tasting great.
I’ve read some good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting.
Thanks for your comment, Andra.