Category: Basil

Italian Stuffed Flank Steak

Basil, Beef, Main Dishes, Spinach

I have made this several times over the past years from the always reliable The New Basics. It’s a nice main dish for a crowd that you can make ahead of time. Our Christmas Eve theme was “stuffed” so this was perfect.

Its not hard to butterfly a flank steak. Just have to go slow.
…on goes the prosciutto…
…roasted red peppers…
…and the pesto. I didn’t follow the recipe, I just used jarred pesto and added some breadcrumbs to thicken it up.
rolled up and ready to go
The finished product. I didn’t get a very good picture… was a bit busy with 28 people over for dinner.

Italian Stuffed Flank Steak
The New Basics Cookbook,  Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins

8 ounces fresh spinach, trimmed and well rinsed
1/c cup dried bread crumbs
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
3 red bell peppers, roasted
1 flank steak (about 1 ½ pounds), butterflied
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
1 fresh hot cherry pepper, cored, seeded, and minced

1. Preheat the over to 350°F.

2. Place the spinach in a saucepan with just the water that clings to the leaves. Cover, and cook over medium heat until wilted, 5 minutes. Drain in a colander, and press out the excess moisture with the back of a spoon.

3. Combine spinach, bread crumbs, Parmesan, olive oil, and garlic in a food processor and puree until thick and smooth. Transfer to a bowl.

4. Peel, core, and carefully seed the roasted peppers. Cut them in half.

5. Open the steak on a work surface, and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the prosciutto in one layer on the steak. Top with a layer of the roasted peppers. Then spread the spinach mixture over them, and sprinkle with the minced cherry pepper.

6. Starting with a long side, roll the steak up jelly-roll style. Tie it with string at 2-inch intervals, and brush with a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place steak in a shallow baking pan.

7. Bake 40 minutes for medium-rare. Cool slightly, or to room temperature, before slicing and serving.

4 to 6 portions

******

For Christmas Eve we also had stuffed shells, little twice baked potatoes, stuffed cabbage, roasted vegetables. Of course we had to have hanky pankies, made a nice smoked salmon spread, cheese and crackers and Sean made some nice bacon wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese. Kirsten made cream puffs for dessert and Sophia dazzled all with her spectacular macarons that no one can get enough of.

Basil

Basil, Carrot, garden, Garlic, Main Dishes, Parsley, Pasta, Side Dish, Squash

It’s basil season on Edgecliff and we’ve got lots…

I grew four kinds this year. The standard genovese variety…
…a red variety I forget the name of – different than the one I usually grow (and don’t like it as much)…
…thai basil (going to try thai basil mojitos this weekend)…
…cinnamon basil – too pretty to pick.
If one has lots of basil then of course one needs to make pesto:  One huge load of basil…
…about three heaping cups once trimmed and cleaned…
…about 1/3 cup of pine nuts…
…a couple cloves of garlic (this beautiful garlic is from our CSA and is so much fresher and such a huge difference…who knew)….
Swirl it all together in the Cuisinart with a healthy dose of good olive oil et voila.
Pasta with super fresh pesto and lots of herbs, zucchini with lots of basil and some really cool purple carrots (sauteed in butter and maple syrup).  A beautiful summer plate of freshness.

Shrimp and Feta Vermicelli

Basil, Feta, Garlic, Main Dishes, Pasta, Shrimp

Live from beautiful Grayton Beach… a great recipe for a quick pasta for a large group.  We have been in Grayton Beach, Florida since Saturday and tonight was Mom’s night to make dinner and she made this tasty pasta dish. 

Nice easy dinner

 

the chef hard at work

 

the chef harder at work 🙂
tomato sauce in a red bowl

yeay vacation

Shrimp and Feta Vermicelli

XXXX via Linda Holzheimer

  •  1 pound unpeeled medium-size fresh shrimp – peeled
  • 1/8 t. dried crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 2 t. chopped fresh basil or 3/4 t. dried basil
  • 1 1/2 t. chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 t. dried oregano
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 1/4 t. pepper
  • 8 0z. dried vermicelli, cooked
  • chopped fresh basil for garnish

Saute shrimp and red pepper in 2 T. oil in a large skillet for just a few minutes until slightly pink.  Arrange shrimp in a greased 11 x 7 baking dish; sprinkle with feta cheese and set aside.

Add remaining 2 T. oild to skillet’ ccok garlic over medium heat 1 minute.  Add tomatoes and jice’ cook 1 minure.  Stir in wince and next 4 ingredients; simmer uncvored, 10 minutes.  Spoon tomato mixture over shirmp.  Baek, uncovered at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Serve over cooked vermicellie.  Garnish.  Yield 3 servings.

Sophie on the beach after dinner

Grilled Salmon with Tomato and Olive Salsa

Basil, Main Dishes, Olive, Salmon, Tomatoes
  • 1 ½ cups diced seeded plum tomatoes (about 10 oz.)
  • 6 T. olive oil
  • 12 Kalamata olives or other brine cured black olives, pitted, chopped
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
  • 2 T. drained capers
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 shallot, finely choppted

6 6oz. salmon fillets

Combine tomatoes, 4 T. oil, olives, basil, capers, garlic, and shallot in medium bowl; season with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat).  Brush salmon with remaining 2 T. oil;  sprinkle with salt.  Grill salmon until just opaque in center, about 4 minutes per side.  Transfer salmon to plates and top with salsa.

Roasted Garclic – Herb Sauce

Basil, Garlic, Lemon, Miscellaneous, Parsley

Bon Appetit – July, 2001

Pesto-like flavorful sauce.  Good on grilled shrimp or other seafood.

  • 2 heads of garlic, top ¼ inch of each cut off and discarded
  • 1 t. plus 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 anchovy fillets, rinsed (or squeeze of anchovy paste)
  • 2 T. drained capers
  • 2 T. coarsely chopped fresh basil
  • 1 T. grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 375º.  Place heads of garlic in small glass baking dish.  Drizzle with 1 t. oil.  Cover baking dish with foil.  Roast until garlic is tender, about an hour.  Cool slightly.  Squeeze garlic from skin into small bowl.  Mash with fork.

Place mashed garlic, parsley, anchovy fillets, capers, basil and lemon peel in processor.  With machine running, slowly blend in 2/3 cup oil.  Season sauce with salt and pepper.  (Can be made 1 day ahead.  Chill.  Use at room temperature.)

Makes about 1 cup.

Eggplant, Sausage and Ziti Casserole

Basil, Eggplant, Main Dishes, Mozarella, Olive, Parmesan, Sausage, Tomatoes

Emeril Lagasse – 2001 – via Aunt Evie

  • 2 large eggplants, cut crosswise into 1/3 inch thick rounds
  • ½ cup olive oil, plus more as needed
  •  Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1 pound Italian sausage, removed from casings
  • 2 T. tomato paste
  • 1 28-oz can whole Italian tomatoes, crushed and their juices
  • 1 t. Italian seasoning
  • ½ cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
  • ¼ t. crushed red pepper
  • ¼ cup  minced fresh basil leaves
  • 4 T. butter
  • 4 T. flour
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1/8 t. freshly grated nutmeg
  • ½ cup grated parmesan
  • 8 oz. ziti, cooked according to package directions and drained
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 by 13 inch casserole dish (or bigger) and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat ¼ cup oil.  Add egglplant in batches, seasoning both sides with salt and pepper, and cook until golden, adding more oil as needed.  Transfer to a plate as they cook, and set aside.

Heat 2 T. or remaining oil in large skillet.  When hot, but not smoking, add the onion and sausage, and cook, stirring, until the sausage is browned and the onion is soft, about 6 minutes.  Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, their juices, the Italian seasoning, black olives, 1 t. of salt, and the crushed red pepper.  Reduce the heat to medium- low and gently simmer, uncovered, until the flavors marry and the sauce slightly thickens, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  Add basil and adjust seasoning to taste.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and forms a light roux, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in the milk and, whisking frequently, cook until the sauce is thickened and smooth, about 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and season with the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange half of the eggplant slices on the bottom of the casserole, overlapping as necessary.  Top with half of the cooked pasta, then half of the sausage-tomato sauce.  Place another layer of eggplant slices on top of the sauce, then layers of pasta and sausage-tomato sauce.  Pour on the white sauce, then top with the grated mozzarella and parmesan.

Bake for 1 hour, or until puffed and golden brown on top.

Hamburger Soup

Basil, Cabbage, Carrot, Cheddar Cheese, Ground Beef, Potatoes, Soup, Tomatoes

This is an old family recipe from one of the old UBC cookbooks.  Everyone likes it.  It tastes better the next day…. and freezes well too.

  • 1 lb. Ground beef
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup cubed potatoes
  • 1 cup cut up carrots
  • 1 cup shredded cabbage
  • 1 16 oz. can tomatoes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ t. thyme
  • ¼ t. basil
  • 1 T. salt
  • pepper
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cup cubed cheddar cheese

Sauté beef until brown.  Add onions and cook until transparent.  Pour off oil.  Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the cheese, and simmer for one hour.

Put cheese into each individual bowl before serving soup