I recently discovered a neighbourhood flower shop which sells herb plants. They have rosemary, thai sweet basil, parsley and basil plants. I picked out a Basil plant for under HK$20. Although there's only enough basil leaves for one salad, I want to see if I can grow them at my flat. The flower shop owner says to keep the leaves growing, pick the ones at the bottom and leave the top leaves to absorb light.
I picked a few basil leaves from my plant today to make tuna fish cucumber mayo sandwich. They were so good! I blanch the leaves in hot water for 10 secs, sliced them into strips and put into my tuna fish sandwich. Too bad the plant is only so small. Now I have to wait for the leaves to grow back before I can use fresh basil again for my next sandwich. :(
Next time, I'm going to use the basil leaves to make Basil Oil with the following recipe:
Blanch 1 1/2 cup basil in medium saucepan of boiling water 10 seconds. Drain. Rinse under cold water. Pat basil dry with paper towels. Transfer to blender. Add 3/4 cup olive oil; puree until smooth. Transfer to small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.)
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2 comments:
Nice!!!! It's a great idea to grow herbs at home. Fresh herbs just taste so much better!
I have a thai basil plant and it's growing like weed! :P
These plants grow pretty fast but you have to make sure there is not too much sunlight.
Good Luck! :)
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