I have too much basil.

[i-need-a-martini]

Other than a pesto, how else can I use up heaps of the stuff?

Any ideas?

[j*oono]

Is it easy to dry it and keep in jars?

I love basil.  I use heaps in a lot of my cooking but I actually love the dried basil as much as fresh.

[just_me_karen]

I have heaps of basil too. I like it salads, or blended with Danish feta for a sandwich spread instead of butter. I mix oregano in as well.

[freakiness]

Other than a pesto, how else can I use up heaps of the stuff?

Any ideas?

make more pesto and send it to me  😄

[katydidthat]

Whereabouts are you, Martini?  You can grow basil all year round in Coffs Harbour.  

I make a nice tomato salad ... slice tomatoes thinly, slice red onions thinly.  Arrange tomatoes and onions in layers in a bowl and top each layer with coarsely shredded basil.  Drizzle with lemon juice.  It's tangy and refreshing, goes well with fatty meat like lamb.  

Please post recipe for pesto 🙂

[*mrswormwood*]

You could make a basil butter.....

Shredded basil

Lemon juice 

Pepper

Garlic

Butter

Mix together and refreeze in rolls wrapped in glad wrap.

Use it to make garlic bread or to toss pasta in or fry off stuff before you make bolagnaise etc

[*crikey*mate*]

Basil Chip Garnish

pick the leaves without crushing/bruising them

make sure they are dry

deep fry at 180 till they are crispy

put on absorbant paper etc

They go flourescent green and look absolutely amazing on top of italian dishes with a tomato or red based sauce/soup like a seafood bisque.

(I use them on top of a sandcrab lasagne)

I guess if you were entertaining, you could put out a small bowl of them as posh crisps... - mix it up a bit by doing the same with thinly sliced beetroot and potato or yam for example, and combine the three?

[cherry*135]

Please post recipe for pesto 🙂

Ditto

[cherry*135]

Freeze it in ice cube trays for use later when you don't have any fresh basil.

[lyndal1838]

You can dry it and crumble it for use later.

I strip the leaves off the stems and lay them on 2 layers of paper towel in the microwave, cover them with another layer of towel then nuke them on high for bursts of 30 seconds until dry.

It depends on how big the leaves are as to how long it will take for them to dry crisp.

Just crumble them between your fingers and put in a screw top jar....I reuse the containers I have bought with herbs/spices in.