Latest news with #basil
Daily Mail
a day ago
- General
- Daily Mail
The Canny Cook: Cherry tomato and pancetta pasta
Few dishes bring me as much joy in the summer as pasta with cherry tomato sauce. It has been a true staple of my warm-weather cooking for as long as I can remember. Although there may be small variations in the supporting ingredients, the heart of the dish always remains the same: really good extra virgin olive oil and vibrant tomatoes. I almost always have a punnet of cherry tomatoes in the fridge in summer, which is handy because larger ones just don't deliver the same results. Cherry tomatoes are naturally sweet and juicy, with a more concentrated flavour and lower water content. They also contain more pectin (a natural thickening agent) than bigger varieties, which means they emulsify with the olive oil to create a rich, velvety sauce. In this recipe, I've added salty pancetta, of which a little goes a long way. If you are looking for a vegetarian option, try replacing it with a couple of tablespoons of capers, torn black olives or chopped sun-dried tomatoes – anything that brings a briny, umami hit. Alternatively, you could skip the shallot and pancetta and just add some thinly sliced garlic for the simplest take on this sauce. As with most tomato- based pastas, a few torn basil leaves and a showering of grated parmesan provide the perfect finishing touches. METHOD Finely dice the shallots. Heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan, add the shallots and pancetta, and fry over a medium heat for 6-7 minutes until the shallot softens and the pancetta is golden. Quarter the tomatoes and add to the pan with a pinch of salt, turning up the heat a notch. Fry for another 6-7 minutes until they have broken down a little. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water for a minute less than the packet instructions. Scoop out a mugful of the cooking water before draining. Tip the drained pasta into the frying pan with the tomatoes and pancetta. Add a glug of the cooking water and toss everything over the heat for a minute. Divide between plates and top with plenty of parmesan and a few torn basil leaves, if you have them. Season with ground black pepper and serve. Do you have a great recipe for eating well and cutting food bills? Email editor@ If we print it here, we'll send you a bottle of champagne *This cost assumes you already have some basic store-cupboard ingredients. prices taken from aldi and correct at time of going to press.
The Sun
14-06-2025
- General
- The Sun
Four ways to grow your own herbs and save buying at the supermarket
SUMMER is the perfect thyme to rustle up light dishes packed with fresh herbs. Coriander, parsley and biggest seller basil are all in demand this season, so you might want to grow your own. Here's how to keep them in mint condition. 7 TOP OF THE POTS: Bought potted herbs will likely need a health reboot. As soon as you get them home, replant them in a bigger container. Add some good quality compost. If you have some specifically for vegetables, that's even better. Gently loosen the roots before planting so they have space to flourish. SAGE ADVICE: When deciding where to place your potted herbs so they thrive, it's wise to pick a semi-sunny spot. They may not have been grown in natural sunlight, so putting them on a hot south-facing sill may be too much. Find somewhere that gets sun, but isn't too much of a hotspot. Avoid draughts or radiators, and don't group them too close together. They need space to grow. It's best to place those from a supermarket on a saucer or shallow dish and water when it runs dry. The best-selling fresh herb, basil, should only be watered in the morning so it can dry out overnight. You should prune your herbs or use them regularly as this encourages them to grow. FREEZY DOES IT: Freezing your herbs will mean you can use them for months to come. Wash and dry them, then freeze the stems and leaves in a freezer bag. Alternatively, snip the washed herbs into an ice cube tray before topping with water or oil. Then freeze. You could also mix cut herbs and room-temperature butter. Freeze in an ice cube tray, then use in your cooking or to top meat, fish or vegetables. All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability. Deal of the day MAKE a last minute dash for dad with the Levi's cotton loose fit shirt, down from £51 to £25 at John Lewis. Cheap treat 7 FOR stylish sunnies on a budget, try these £6 pink tortoiseshell cats eye sunglasses from Peacocks. Top swap THIS lemon A3 print, above, £23 from Dunelm, will add zing to your walls. But the one below, £8 for A3 from George at Asda, is also a zesty addition to any home. Shop & save ENJOY a tipple with Tails Passion Fruit Martini cocktail, down from £15.10 to £12.50 at Sainsbury's with a Nectar card, for a four-serve bottle. Hot right now IT'S the last day to get half-price fillet steak at Morrisons meat counter – down from £11.34 to £5.67 for an 8oz steak. PLAY NOW TO WIN £200 7 JOIN thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle. Every month we're giving away £100 to 250 lucky readers - whether you're saving up or just in need of some extra cash, The Sun could have you covered. Every Sun Savers code entered equals one Raffle ticket.
New York Times
12-06-2025
- General
- New York Times
All About That Basil
Hi everyone! Allison here, filling in for Tanya. As someone who has really leaned into vegetarian cooking this past year (meat is expensive, y'all), I couldn't be more thrilled. After cilantro, basil is my favorite herb, found in many a windowsill garden. If you've ever dabbled in growing your own herbs, you probably know that basil is spectacularly easy, perhaps even too easy, to nurture. But that's great for us all as we tiptoe into June — it's like microdosing summer before its official start on the 20th. Nowhere does basil shine more than in pesto. I'll buy a jar at the supermarket on a whim, and then wonder why I don't eat it every day, at every meal — but homemade is always best. It's just plain delicious, whether it's oozing out of a baguette or flavoring some hearty soup. But the pesto preparation that I relish the most? Swirled into plain pasta, spaghetti or perhaps orzo, with a few cherry tomatoes. Bellissima. Florence Fabricant's simple recipe, first published in 1986, is one you can easily bust out for a taste of summer on demand. And great news for those with an especially bountiful harvest of basil: It calls for two cups. View this recipe. Basil's power is multifaceted, and Kay Chun's tofu and cabbage stir-fry with basil wields it like a hammer; turn off the heat and add it at the end to imbue the whole dish with a piquant, peppery aroma. Same with Ali Slagle's three-cup vegetables, a vegan version of the Taiwanese comfort food three-cup chicken, traditionally brightened by Thai basil (though Italian basil stands in beautifully here). The life-giving combo of basil and tomato is the ultimate signal of warmer weather, and Hetty Lui McKinnon knows this well. Basil is blended into the tomato-y base of this briny pasta salad, and stir-fried with tomato and bird's-eye chiles in this fried rice recipe that one reader described as 'the dish that keeps on giving.' For a quick hit of flavor on a weeknight, blitz some basil with chives and cilantro and drizzle on top of creamy white beans, à la Colu Henry. Basil's savory notes stand out especially when floated on a sweet backdrop, as in Maya-Camille Broussard's revelatory strawberry basil Key lime pie, adapted by Kayla Stewart. Or pair it with assertive acidity, like in this lovely lemon salad dressing. Lastly: Never underestimate the power of a garnish. Even though basil doesn't play a key role, it's hard to imagine Sam Sifton's savory French toast without it. View this recipe. View this recipe. View this recipe. Email us at theveggie@ Newsletters will be archived here. Reach out to my colleagues at cookingcare@ if you have questions about your account.
Telegraph
03-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Burrata with asparagus, Parma ham and basil dressing
I love handling this type of dish, especially when I have good ingredients. It's an assembly of components. Dishes with burrata are a bit difficult. One globe per person seems too much, but once you split them the cream inside starts to come out. Go for split or whole, depending on your appetite. There's nothing wrong with using frozen peas, especially petits pois – they're little pops of sweetness. Ingredients For the dressing 125ml extra-virgin olive oil (not a bitter Tuscan one), plus extra for drizzling 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar, or as needed ½ tsp Dijon mustard 20g basil leaves (no stalks) ½ small shallot, diced For the salad 175g asparagus 30g fresh or frozen peas, defrosted if frozen 25g pea shoots 4 slices Parma ham, torn into pieces 2 burratas Method Step To make the dressing, add 125ml extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar, ½ tsp Dijon mustard and 20g basil leaves to a food processor with ½ tbsp water and some seasoning, and whizz. Step Add ½ small diced shallot – it will flavour the dressing as it sits – and pulse until you get a thickness similar to pesto. Taste to see whether you want to fiddle a bit with the seasoning, oil or white balsamic. This makes more dressing than you need but it keeps well in the fridge. Step Prepare 175g asparagus by snapping off the tough woody end of each spear. Steam the asparagus for about 7 minutes, or until just tender – the timing will depend on the thickness of the spears. Dry in a clean tea towel to absorb the moisture clinging to them. Step Divide the salad components – the asparagus, 30g fresh or frozen peas, 25g pea shoots, 4 slices torn Parma ham and 2 burratas – between your plates. Season everything and spoon some of the basil dressing over the top. Add a swirl of extra-virgin olive oil and serve.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Cocktail of the week: Elements' earth – recipe
The inspiration behind this drink was a basil sour I had when I was working in Trondheim, Norway. I loved the flavour combinations, and was keen to incorporate similar herbaceous notes into a drink that would represent one of the four elements, as well as our new restaurant. I've used citrus in the form of yuzu to introduce another flavour dimension that blends in harmoniously. At the restaurant, we make big batches of the citrus syrup from spent lemons and limes, to save on wastage. Serves 2 For the syrup 100g finely chopped mixed lime and lemon peel 50g finely chopped basil 100g sugar For the drink80ml gin – we use Downpour Original 30ml yuzu liqueur – we use Choya 150ml basil and citrus syrup – see above and method 30ml lime juice 40ml egg white (from about 1 large egg) 4 slices dehydrated lime, to garnish Put all the syrup ingredients in a medium pan, add 100g cold water and put on a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, for six to eight minutes. Take off the heat, leave to cool and infuse overnight or, better still, for 48 hours, then fine-strain into a clean jar, seal and store in the fridge, where it will keep for about three weeks. To build the drink, measure all the liquids into a shaker, add the egg white, then dry shake to set the white. Add ice, shake again, to chill and dilute, then fine-strain into two coupes, garnish each drink with two slices of dried lime and serve. Connor Wren, bar manager, Elements, Glasgow
