Basil Infused Oil Recipe

by Kyrstie on June 21, 2012

Make the Most of End of Season Basil

My garden has finally given into the winter weather. I have just removed my 4 large basil plants this week. The stems were starting to get woody, there was limited new growth and the leaves started to get black spots.

I am thankful for the long season I have had from my summer crops and for the abundance they have provided to our table.

Uses for end of season Basil :

Prior to removing the basil plants I picked as many of the leaves off the plants as possible and made:

I got the idea for making the Basil infused oil from a book I won from The Culinary Library a few months ago, Alchemy of the Mortar & Pestle. The book contains a chapter dedicated to Aetherolea, “a water-resistant (hydrophobic) liquid that contains volatile aroma compounds from plants” (p75).

The steps for making the basil oil outline below are based on the instructions provided in the book. I tweaked the amount of leaves as I know that basil is a plant that will generously release it’s molecules into an oil base. It is classified as a mid note so will impart quite a strong aroma.

I adore basil, it is one of the herbs that I use most often and I did not want to waste the large quantity of lovely leaves that were still on the bushes. I dislike buying herbs from the store as they do not keep well and have often totally lost their freshness by the time they are used. Making an oil and freezing some pesto cubes means my basil lasts into winter. I will re plant new bushes as soon as the soil starts to warm again in the coming Spring.

Makes: Just under 1/2 cup of infused oil

Preparation Time: 1 hour 20 minutes – including infusing (rest) time of 1 hour

Ingredients:

Equipment:

Steps:

Uses of Basil Infused Oil:

Hints and Tips:

This post is linked to Kate Says Stuff’s Thankful Thursday. Thank you Kate for the opportunity to join you.

What is your favourite way to use Basil? Do you still have some in your garden?

Every Friday at A Fresh Legacy is Fresh and Fast Friday, I would love for you to join me tomorrow.

Take my button from the sidebar and link up your quick recipe(less than 30 minutes).

Tagged as:
Preserves and Sauces,
Thankful Thursday,
Vegetable garden

{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Oh yum! I love basil! I didn’t plant any this year, but am definitely going to plant some as soon as the time is right after reading this! The boys will enjoy pounding the leaves!

I don’t use basil that much but I’ll share this with my mum, who loves cooking

Ai @ Sakura Haruka

*Runs outside to grab all the basil from the garden to make some infused oil!* Yum!!

Looks great Kyrstie!! Very impressed you still have basil growing at this time of the year, so inspiring to get some new things planted in my veggie garden this weekend. Waiting for my Kale, Fennel and Snow Pea seedlings to come up. Thanks for the mention!

Thanks Prue, I love your book. The content is refreshing and there are some fabulous recipes. I am so pleased to have a copy on my shelf