It's not really food, but you can put basil in a variety of lotions, oils, bug repellents, etc. The recipes are all over online. Basil isn't super-cheap, but if you have leftovers, this could be a great solution! You have to either strain it or put it on in the shower though, otherwise you'll have basil bits dotting your skin. :)

I'd also recommend making homemade pasta sauce and putting the basil in there. You can then divide it into plastic baggies and freeze it. Keeps for a LONG time, and tastes great when you thaw, cook, and eat it.

How do you defrost basil? (I know this is a really basic question, but I'm a cooking novice!)

I like to make an emulsified basil vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette, start by blanching a bunch of basil leaves in lightly salted boiling water. (You could go a step further and make basil vinegar and basil oil to use for this recipe as well.)

After blanching the leaves dump them into a bowl of ice water to cool them off. This will help lock in their green color. Save some of the blanching water and cool that in a container over ice.

Put the basil, some chopped shallot, clove of garlic, salt and white pepper into a blender. add a touch of champagne vinegar or basil vinegar and a little bit of the blanching water. Cover the blender and liquefy the ingredients. Add a little more water if you have to create a nice smooth puree. At this point you could add an egg yolk, which could be raw, coddled or pasteurized, whichever you prefer.

Then, on low speed, open the little hole at the top of the blender and slowly drizzle in your basil oil, extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil. You can use a combination of the basil oil and any of the other oils or only one kind of oil, it will still be incredibly "basily." The mixture should start to thicken and look a little creamy. An important note is not to pour the oil in too quickly.

The finished vinaigrette can be strained and seasoned a little more if it needs it. This will be a beautiful light green color and have a little body which makes a striking presentation for a tomato salad. It's particularly nice when it is gently warmed and used as a sauce for fish.

Ohh, wow, the basil vinegarette sounds amazing! I bet it would be fantastic on grilled fish and veggies!

I think I may also try to make a kind of granita-ish icy thing following the sorbet recipe. No ice cream maker, so we'll see how it goes.

Thanks, all!

I have also read that you can just freeze whole basil leaves sucessfully: wash carefully, dry between paper towels, and place in a freezer storage bag. I have yet to try it, but plan to soon!

i imagine a basil pesto without nuts would still be quite delicious on pasta...

it's also good in thai food with chili and coconut.

I just tried this recipe last night and it's really delicious and easy--perfect for the summer:

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/10278?section=

In case the link doesn't come through, here's the recipe, from Vegetarian Times.

* 1 1/2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
* 1 1/2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
* 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 tsp.)
* 3 Tbs. nonfat plain yogurt
* 4 English muffins, split
* 1 large ripe tomato, thinly sliced

1. Blend basil, Parmesan cheese, olive oil and garlic in food processor or blender until well combined. Add yogurt, and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat broiler. Place muffins on baking sheet. Broil 1 to 2 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Spread each half with basil mixture, and top with several tomato slices. Broil 1 to 2 minutes, or until heated through.

Erin

I'm allergic to most nuts, too, and just make it without the nuts. Once or twice I've used sunflower seeds in about half of the called-for amount of nuts, and that's been pretty tasty, too.

I always keep basil in the freezer. I wash it and dry it, then I take the leaves off the stem and put them in a (recycled) glass jar. When I need basil for tomato sauce (for either pizza or pasta or the million things you can di with tomato sauce) or even to season fresh tomatoes, I just take a few leaves from the jar and use them as they are. The defrost nearly immediately upon contact with the food. Same flavour as fresh. Of course, being frozen, they may crumble as you take them, but I don't find this to be a problem.

I like to use it in omelets with some tomato and feta. And, I've never made them, but I once ordered amazing basil mashed potatoes that were green and out of this world.