When I get my weekly e-mail from my home produce delivery service, I always peruse the list of available products for funkier things...the things you aren't going to see in your produce section at the local grocery store. As a lover of basil, I immediately jumped at purple basil. I had never seen it nor known what to do with it.
A small package arrived and the leaves look like regular basil, but have a vibrant purple color, and also had some small white flowers. Its taste is a little more bitter than traditional basil. So OK...what in the world am I going to do with this?
Pesto was an obvious choice, but wasn't sure, given the potential color of it might make it look unappetizing. However, I found a recipe for a purple basil pesto included tomatoes, so I tried it, and WOW. The help the color factor, and help cut the bitterness. It would make a great bruschetta, served w a small piece of fresh mozzarella and a green basil leaf for color.
Purple Basil Pesto
1/4 cup pine nuts (you can substitute walnuts or almonds)
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups purple basil leaves, packed (green if no purple)
1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano (or other hard cheese)
1 medium tomato, quartered
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste
Chop pine nuts and garlic in food processor until finely chopped. Add the basil, cheese, tomatoes, and salt, and process until thoroughly combined and the consistency you like. With the motor running running, slowly drizzle the olive oil through the chute. Add more salt to taste if desired. Store your pesto in the refrigerator for several days or freeze.
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups purple basil leaves, packed (green if no purple)
1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano (or other hard cheese)
1 medium tomato, quartered
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste
Chop pine nuts and garlic in food processor until finely chopped. Add the basil, cheese, tomatoes, and salt, and process until thoroughly combined and the consistency you like. With the motor running running, slowly drizzle the olive oil through the chute. Add more salt to taste if desired. Store your pesto in the refrigerator for several days or freeze.
When we play the nightly game of "what do we have to get rid of" when we make dinner, we had some pesto and some fresh mozzarella to use, so we decided to make a pizza. I rolled out some dough, brushed it with some basil-infused olive oil, used the pesto as the base, and topped with 4 oz fresh mozzarella and 1 cup of freshly roasted red peppers. The result was this beauty:
The pesto made the perfect base with the fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers added a little something to the mix. Tasted like something you'd get at a gourmet pizza joint, but even better. Doubt they use purple basil.
