Basil – Grow. Cook. Eat.

September 15, 2011

Preserving Summer – Basil, Kale and Chilies

Every year, I grow far more produce than I can actually consume on my own . I can’t help myself, though… Even the seemingly small number of basil plants (only 4) generates far more fragrant leaves than I could eat, even if I were to eat pesto at every meal during the summer. And those kales seeds are so tiny that 4 short rows of plants barely feels like anything until I start cutting 2 gallons of leaves a week.

So I’ve developed all sorts of strategies for preservation.

The past few years, I’ve tried several strategies for freezing basil, both of which I like.

I puree the basil with a little olive oil and then spoon it into ice cube trays. Once the basil is frozen, I transfer it to a Ziploc bag for more compact storage.
I put the dry basil leaves in a Ziploc bag. They get dry and brittle, and crumble.

I intentionally opted against pesto because I don’t want to commit to the flavor profile. And truthfully, I just don’t eat that much pesto.

With the kale, when I harvest more than I can eat in a single meal, I sauté the rest with garlic and freeze it. By now, I’ve got a half dozen quart bags stacked in the freezer.

For the jalapenos, I cut them into rings, simmer them in oil and then freeze them in ice cube trays. When the pepper cubes are frozen, I transfer them to a ziploc bag.

This year, I’m trying something semi-new…. Making a few pounds of herb butter. I’ve made the herb butter before, but never in bulk. I like this idea because I can also incorporate the tarragon and scallions.

Yes, I know, it’s committing to a flavor profile. But this is a profile I really like. And I can still freeze some herbs plain.

What are your strategies for perserving the summer harvest?

Herb Butter
¼ cup fresh tarragon
¼ cup fresh chives or scallions
¼ cup fresh parsley (or 1 tsp. dried)
¼ cup fresh basil (or 1 tsp. dried)
2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 pound butter
salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop herbs and fennel seeds. Mix with butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Roll into logs and wrap in parchment paper. Freeze.

September 6, 2011

Red Salad

A vibrant salad – both in color and taste. And straightforward – in preparation and flavors. This salad pairs especially well with ribs or other rich, grilled meats.

4 beets
4 tomatoes
1 – 2 balls of fresh mozzarella
½ cup fresh basil leaves
2 – 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 – 4 tablespoons EVOO + extra for cooking the beets
Salt and pepper to taste.

1.    Scrub the beets well. Toss with a little olive oil, wrap in foil and roast in a 400F oven for 20 – 30 minutes, or until beets are tender when piereced with a paring knife. Let beets cool
2.    Cut the tomatoes into chunks. Cut mozzarella into chunks.
3.    When beets are cool enough to handle, peel and then cut into chunks.
4.    Toss the beets, tomatoes, basil, olive oil and vinegar together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
5.    Add the mozzarella – either just before serving to maintain its snow white color, or mixed in to let the beets dye it pink.

September 27, 2010

Preserving Summer: Basil

The temperatures dropped precipitously yesterday… from a high of 75 in the morning, to a low of 65 by 3pm. A sure sign that autumn is here. I raced into the garden to harvest as much basil as I could before the plants started to feel the chill… causing the leaves to yellow and fall off (much like the New England foliage).

Some people preserve basil for the winter by making large batches of pesto. I’ve opted against this method because I don’t want to commit to that flavor profile. Instead, ’ve pureed the leaves with olive oil and froze them in ice cube trays. The flavor preserves nicely, but the color fades to a drab army green.

This year, I’m trying something different.

I picked the leaves, and laid them on a cookie sheet to freeze. I didn’t wash them – the water hastens the discoloration. More importantly, the residual moisture would cause the leaves to stick together, and I wanted IQF leaves. I’m not worried about dirt, either. The weather has been so dry that the leaves are quite pristinely clean.

When I transferred the leaves to Ziploc bag for the longer term storage, the color was still bright green, though slightly translucent. I imagine that they would be best used to add to a dish for the last 30 seconds of cooking – they hold their color and flavor, but not the texture of fresh green leaves.

July 19, 2010

Mystery Basket (Recipe: Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad)

As I opened up the grocery bag of full of vegetables, I had flashbacks to culinary school – visions of my first practical exam. We were given a medley of ingredients and told to create an entrée in one hour. This was not unlike the show “Chopped” on the Food Network (though the ingredients were more user-friendly)

Matthew’s roommate was out of town and he was left alone to contend with the weekly CSA box of produce. He called me in a panic, “Can you do something with this?”

“Of course,” I calmly replied. “What do you have?”

“A bunch of green stuff, spring onions, summer squash and what not.”

What not? Could he be less specific? Now, I was in a panic.

Nonetheless, I agreed to cook dinner for him and his partner. I picked up a piece of swordfish, armed myself with "Even Star Farm CSA Cookbook” and prayed that the ingredients he brought would somehow come together into a cohesive meal.

I unpacked the bag to discover the “green stuff”: kale, basil, cilantro, lettuce and radicchio. There were plenty of spring onions – the bulbous, young onions as well as the more traditional-looking scallions. And the “what-not”: A kousa and yellow squash, 2 tomatoes, a tiny fennel bulb, a bunch of carrots, cucumber and a yellow bell pepper.

As an additional challenge, I didn’t want to supplement with anything beyond the fish and what I had on hand. I also didn’t want to use any vegetables that weren’t in the CSA box or in my garden.

This is what I came up with:

Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup
From the CSA Box: carrots, kale, onions. From my garden: garlic, celery, thyme

Summer Squash Sautéed with Garlic Scapes
From the CSA Box: squash and basil. From the garden: scapes

Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad
From the CSA Box: pepper, tomato and basil

Carrot and Fennel Slaw
From the CSA Box: carrot and fennel

Salad with the lettuce, cucumber and carrot
all from the CSA box, though I could have added cucumbers and lettuce from my garden

Quinoa with Kale and Tomato, seasoned with Soy and Lemon
Kale and Tomato from the CSA Box

Alas, I couldn’t figure out how to work cilantro into this, otherwise, European meal. That will get used later in the week.

Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad
I only had one pepper and one tomato to use, but for a more generous serving, I'd recommend using at least 2 peppers (and maybe even two tomatoes)

2 bell peppers — red or yellow
2 ripe tomatoes
1 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs. fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Blacken the skin of the pepper over a gas burner (or under a broiler) until blackened on all sides. Put in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stem for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes.

3. When peppers are cool, peel away blackened skin. Cut in half; remove and discard the stem and seeds.

4. Cut the peppers into 1/2" wide strips. Mix with the tomatoes. Coarsely chop the basil and add to the peppers. Add the balsamic and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

July 5, 2010

Harvesting Basil

A reader recently inquired as to the best way to harvest basil. Do you pick the biggest leaves from the bottom of the plant or pinch sprigs from the top?

I recommend the latter. As you can see in this photo, about 1 inch below where I pinched off a sprig, two more stalks shot out from either side. By harvesting in this method, you will have a full, bushy plant and increase your yields.

So what am I making with all this basil?

Herb Butter

Scape Basil Pesto

Pasta with Young Garlic, Tomatoes and Basil

Savory Greens and Potatoes

And as the summer progresses, I will be adding it to all sorts of tomato dishes, and freezing some to take me through the winter.

June 16, 2009

Herbalicious

I favor the soft herbs — tarragon, basil, chervil, chives. On the other end of the spectrum – rosemary, sage, and oregano – the flavors tend to overpower. Too often, cooks have a heavy hand with the hard herbs, and ruin an otherwise good dish.

But back to the soft herbs… They can be mixed with lettuces for a salad or blended together for my cherished dreamy green goddess. Or, mixed with soft butter to make a compound butter.

Compound butter is versatile. I rub a few tablespoons under the skin of chicken breasts before roasting

Or finish a tomato sauce with the butter for salmon.

Or toss steamed asparagus in it.

Herb Butter
1 tbs. fresh tarragon
1 tbs. fresh chives or scallions
1 tbs. fresh parsley or chervil
1 tbs. fresh basil
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 stick butter
salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop herbs and spices. Mix with butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I'm submitting this recipe to the Weekend Herb Blogging #188, hosted this week by the ever-charming Graziana of Erbe in Cucina – Cooking with Herbs. This event was originally started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, and is now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once. For more information, see the rules, hosting schedule, and weekly recaps for WHB.