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To everything, (turn turn turn) there is a season. And now is the season for basil. Gone are the days of little tiny stupid plastic boxes of sad wilty basil leaves shipped from Mexico, at the bargain price of $3 per box. The days of heaping big bags of basil for $1.50 are here.
Go to your farmers market and get yourself some basil.
Basil Pesto
You don't need a recipe for basil pesto. Get some basil, stuff it into your food processor. Toss in a garlic clove or four. Add some pine nuts. Pour in some olive oil. Run the machine until you have a nice paste. Too runny? Add some more basil. Too dry? Add some oil. Throw in some finely grated parmesan cheese. Add some salt. Keep tasting it and adjusting it until you like it.
Spoon it into ice cube trays (metal trays, or cheap plastic ones that you don't mind sacrificing for the cause) and freeze it. When it's frozen hard, pop the pesto out of the trays and seal them in ziploc bags, one or two cubes to a bag.
Next January when it's cold and gray and it's been raining for 87 days straight and you come home exhausted and starving, you'll throw some noodles in a pot, pull out a cube of homemade pesto, and in 11 minutes you'll be savouring the flavour of summer.
Basil Oil
Again, no real recipe here.
Take some basil, a good couple of handfuls (stems and all) and blanche them in boiling water for just a second.
Plunge the basil into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain it and squeeze the excess water out. Chop coarsely.
Fill your blender, say halfway, with canola oil (don't waste your expensive olive oil). Put the basil in, choose the highest setting your blender offers and let it do it's thing. Blend for 3 minutes.
Pour the pulpy mess into a container, cover, and let it sit for 24 hours.
Strain it. Strain it again. Strain it through cheesecloth.
Pour into a couple of plastic squeeze bottles. You can add a little bit of olive oil now, if you want the flavour.
Drizzle the oil on pasta. Pour a little on top of your tomato soup. Use it in salad dressings. Decorate your plates with it. Go nuts.
Sweet Basil Oil
This one doesn't have a very long shelf life (4 or 5 days) but it's quick and easy, and great for fruit salads, cocktails, ice cream, etc.
1 handful of basil, blanched, schocked, drained, and chopped coarsely.
1/2 cup of simple syrup (if you don't already have simple syrup on hand, then you are not drinking Mojitos this summer and something is seriously wrong with you)
1/2 cup almond or walnut oil.
Blend everything in your blender for 3 minutes.
Strain through a very fine mesh strainer.
Slice up some peaches, sprinkle with sugar. Give them a dollop of mascarpone cheese and a drizzle of sweet basil oil. Just pour a little bit of it over fruit and yogurt, and breakfast gets a whole lot tastier.