Monday, September 28, 2009

Basil Basics


My basil plant was in serious need of cutting back, so I went to work on it this weekend and got EIGHT packed cups of basil off of it. A perfect excuse to make homemade pesto!


Before I get to that recipe, I thought it might be helpful to share my mom's trick for chopping basil. It's a great way to get uniform pieces for your recipes:


1. Stack several similarly-sized basil leaves, one of top of each other, stems pointing in the same direction.

2. Roll as you would a cigar and hold firmly by the base of the stack of basil.

3. Start at the end of the basil, chopping thin strips of basil. If you need the pieces to be smaller after you finish cutting your
chiffonade, coarsely chop until the desired size.

4. This is a great method for chopping basil to add to salads, sauces, or other recipes where a uniform size is important.




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