What to Do With Leftover Basil
Two sauces to go over everything you can possibly think of
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I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but basil is having a moment.
I’ve seen videos all over the socials about how to propagate it from supermarket plants. Or pruning tips so it grows back bigger and bushier than before.
These videos all promise a never-ending supply of basil and I have enthusiastically taken up that challenge in a window box propped over my balcony.
If you’ve also lapped up the basil worship, you might be in the same position. So many basil leaves, so little interest in making the same old pesto.
That, or you bought a packet only to use a couple of leaves on a pizza, leaving the rest of the stalks to turn to mush in the fridge before you guiltily chuck them in the bin.
We’ve all been there.
Which is why I’ve been tinkering with a couple of sauces / dressings to use up leftover basil. Or indeed to make when I have to cut back the plant that is rapidly taking over the chives I naively sowed the same window box.
These are not complex recipes but they hit all the Capsule Pantry by-laws.
They’re flexible, both in how you make them (the quantities are not set in stone) and how you use them.
They’re waste-reducing. No more bin-basil.
They use up storecupboard ingredients I recommend everyone has in their pantries.
And they’re punchy AF.
Sauce no. 1: Walnut and Basil
Makes enough for 3-4 people
1 cup of loosely packed basil leaves / a couple of handfuls
40g walnuts
3 generous tbsp good quality olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt
Optional: 1 clove garlic
I mean, there’s not that much of a recipe as such, you just blend the lot together with a stick blender or food processor. Smash in more basil leaves if you like. Or more walnuts. And if it looks too thick, add water a tablespoon at a time until you've got a thick, viscous sauce.
Sauce no. 2: Lemon-Basil Oil
Serves 2-3
Approximately 40 large basil leaves
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt to season
Yep, you’ve guessed it, blend it up and it’s done.
Warm potato and broad bean salad with walnut-basil sauce
Serves a generous two (or three as a side dish) for lunch
1 portion of walnut-basil sauce
500g waxy potatoes chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
3 handfuls of broad beans
Salt
Bring a pot to the boil and salt it with a few pinches. Throw in your potatoes and cook them until soft. Mine took around 15-20 minutes, but just keep an eye on them. Drain once they’re done.
Meanwhile, get those broad beans ready. If they still have their jackets on, bring another small pan to the boil and throw them in. Boil for around five minutes.
Drain and once cool, slip the beans out of their coats.
Put the beans and potatoes into a mixing bowl and season with a pinch of salt. Potatoes can be bland without salt.
Take the walnut basil sauce and add to the mix. Toss. Potatoes tend to suck up any and all liquid so you might need to loosen everything up by adding some olive oil or water, one tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick — but not claggy — sauce coating everything.
Serve.
Broccoli and spelt salad with lemon-basil oil
Serves 2 for lunch
75g spelt
Half to three-quarters of a head of broccoli cut into small florets
1/2 a medium white / brown onion cut into chunks
1 medium-sized tomato finely diced
Lemon-basil dressing
Optional: nuts and cheese of your choice (I love almonds and feta but you do you)
Cover the spelt in boiling water and simmer on the stove for around 35-45 minutes or until the spelt is cooked but still has a little chew. Keep an eye on the cooking, spelt is thirsty so you’ll probably need to top up the water every so often. Drain and tip into a mixing bowl.
Whilst the spelt is cooking, heat your oven to 180C/350F. Throw the broccoli florets and onion chunks onto a baking sheet, coat them in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Whack in the oven until the broccoli is cooked with little crispy bits. Depending on the size of the florets that’ll take around 20-30 minutes.
When they’re done, throw in them in the bowl with the cooked spelt. Add the diced tomato.
Grab your lemon-basil oil and throw that in. The quantity doesn’t matter too much, you just want it to coat the salad in all that herby flavour without drowning it in oil. Save some for plating.
Mix. Plate. Throw on the nuts and cheese if you’re using them. Drizzle with a bit more lemon-basil oil.
Walnut-basil dressing
This stuff can go on anything including:
Tossed into leftover roast chicken
Shoved into stuffed flatbreads
Topped hummous
Dotted over this spelt salad with steak and charred tomatoes
Lemon-basil oil
This is a salad’s best friend so use it liberally on all of them (check out Emily Nunn’s Department of Salad if you need inspo):
Also excellent on these vegetable dishes:
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Basil is key to the Taiwanese dish Three Cup Chicken, or “San Bei Ji” (三杯鸡)
Looks like a grand plan for a dear vegan friend coming to stay for a few days. Sub for broad beans? Chickpeas? I’m open to suggestions! Thanks!