Basil

FREEZING BASIL

While there are lots of ways to freeze (and dry basil), this is by far our favorite:

• In a food processor (or if you do not have a food processor, you can chop the basil by hand - it's not that difficult), process basil leaves (you can even throw in some of the smaller stems) with olive oil and sea salt until the coarsely chopped. Add just enough olive oil to allow the basil to be thoroughly chopped.

• Spoon the processed basil into ice cube trays (you could use small muffin tins or even small yogurt containers - we find the ice cube trays are just the perfect size). Cover with foil and put into the freezer.

• Allow the basil to freeze solid (at least overnight - 24 hours is better). Once solidly frozen, pop out the basil cubes and place into ziploc freezer bags. Seal tight and place back into the freezer.

• Whenever you need basil, simply take out once cube, defrost, and use in whatever recipe you make. Delicious!!

You can also use the Ice-cube method - although we have never tried this:

• Harvest the basil leaves, pick the healthy ones 
• Wash, pick the leaves off the stalk and then use the salad spinner to spin out most of the water 
• Pat dry with kitchen towels
• Stuff the herbs in ice cube trays.
• Fill the tray with water. Using your finger push the leaves down into the water as much as possible as they tend to float. Place the ice cube tray in the freezer Once the ice cubes are frozen, remove them from the tray and transfer to zip-lock bags.
• These cubes are now ready for use, simply add the whole ice cube into your dish during cooking.

You can also make large quantities of PESTO and freeze it in the same way as you would freeze basil in oil.