Long since people learned to enrich taste and aroma of various dishes with spices and spices. One of the famous spices, especially honored in the east, is green basil.
Dishes from it have a special taste. In Russia, basil is called “royal grass”, its other name is “Regan”.
What is it and what is it eaten with, in which dishes is this spice added, what can be cooked and what is it suitable for? All about the use of basil in cooking, you will read in our article.
What is it and what does it taste like?
What does a spice taste like? Basil - fragrant spice, with an acrid clove flavor. The leaves of violet basil have a mint flavor; in green, the combination of taste and aroma resembles cloves and laurel. Depending on the sort of taste varies.
- Yerevan variety has the aroma of black tea, allspice and clove flavor.
- Spoon-like basil with green leaves has a pungent taste of bay leaf.
- Baku variety has a taste of mint and aroma of a clove tree.
- Vanilla basil has a delicate vanilla flavor, combined with a touch of mildness.
Depending on the ripeness, the taste of the spice is different: in young plants it is more tender, with a sweet taste, has notes of cloves and cinnamon, it is better to use it fresh. With age, the spice taste grows coarse, it becomes sharp, pungent and bitter.
Is it possible to eat raw?
What are the nuances of use in cooking? Basil can be eaten raw. Its leaves are rich in vitamin C, PP, B2, sugars, carotene, tannins. A strong aroma gives a high content of essential oils.
How to do it?
Pretreatment processing
Where to add and how to eat? Before using as food, Regan is washed under running water. Heat treatment spice does not stand, especially with purple leaves. Add to the dish just before serving or at the end of cooking, for 10 minutes. Cooks recommend basil greens not to be cut with a knife, but to be torn with hands to preserve the flavor.
Is it permissible to eat every day?
Doctors do not recommend basil greens every day. Culture is rich in essential oils and other substances that affect many body systems. If you eat fresh greens every day for more than 2 weeks in a row, certain health problems may begin. In addition to useful components, the composition of the spices contains mercury compounds, the accumulation of which will lead to poisoning of the body.
What time of day?
Basil can be eaten at any time of the day. Spice is a product with a negative calorie content and its digestion requires more energy than the green itself contains. Basil, eaten at night, satisfies hunger. This information is useful to people who want to lose weight.
Eat fasting green basil should not be. The pungent taste of basil is due to the increased content of essential oils that can irritate the mucous membrane of an empty stomach.
Age restrictions and contraindications
Lactating women can basil in moderate doses to increase lactation. Preschool children are not recommended. Schoolchildren and teenagers are allowed, but not every day and in limited quantities. The content of tannins (tannins) in the composition of spices thicken the blood. Basil leaves have healing properties, using them, read the contraindications.
Main contraindications:
- Myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease;
- thrombosis and thrombophlebitis;
- epilepsy;
- increased blood clotting;
- pregnancy;
- low blood pressure.
How and where is dried, frozen and boiled seasoning used?
Which dishes use spice, with what and how to eat it?
- Where to put dried basil? Dried herbs seasoned salads, soups, soft drinks, sauces. Culinary peculiarity is that tea is made from dried leaves. Dried basil takes up little space, a large amount can be stored and dried for a long time.
- Where and in what dishes use frozen greens? In this form, it will retain for a long time nutrients, taste and appearance of fresh greens. Freeze in the form of mashed potatoes, individual leaves or in ice cubes. A certain amount of it is placed in the cube in order to immediately throw it into the preparing food.
- Where to put boiled basil? Used purely for medicinal purposes. Broths and infusions are prepared from the leaves for chronic diseases of the stomach, bladder, and toothache.
What is the best way to eat?
Best to eat fresh fresh green basil. Its taste is gentle, does not burn, but the leaves are not inferior in content of vitamins to an adult plant. The use of flowers is not so widespread, as flowering plants and go only for drying.
Application in cooking, where to add it and for what?
How and with what it is eaten, for what dishes it is suitable, and is it possible to add it to soup and salad? Dried basil is a part of different spices for pasta dishes, first and second courses, meat, egg dishes, salad dressings and sauces. And with fish and chicken it is combined badly.
When cooking canned food and sausages, smoked meat serves as a substitute for pepper. Where and in what dishes add fresh regan? Fresh leaves and stems season the salads, soups, cold meat dishes and desserts, butter for sandwiches.
Tea
What are the benefits and harms of tea with basil? Tea from fresh leaves quenches thirst, refreshes in the heat, compensates for the deficiency of vitamins and normalizes sleep.
From fresh leaves
- Take 50 grams of fresh leaves, washed with water and dried with a paper towel.
- After brewed with boiling water and allowed to infuse for 15-20 minutes.
If there is no fresh greens, for cooking tea, you can use dried spice.
From dried spices
Take 2 tbsp. l dried spices, 2 tbsp. l black or green tea and brewed with boiling water for 15-20 minutes. Can be served with sugar, cream or milk.
What is the use of such tea? The drink invigorates and tones.
Herbal tea:
- For 1 liter of water, take 20 g of fresh basil leaves, black currant, raspberry and 10 oz. mint.
- Brew boiling water and insist under a towel for 15 minutes.
Soothes and solves the problem with insomnia.
Harm to drink
Basil Tea - Medicinal DrinkIt is not recommended to abuse its dosage. The composition of the leaves includes mercury compounds, which in small doses have an antimicrobial effect, in large - act as a poison.
Dosage of tea intake: if you drink every day, then no more than 3 weeks, then - 2 weeks break.
Decoction
Recipe:
- 2-3 handfuls of fresh or 2 tbsp. l dried leaves pour a liter of boiled water.
- Bring to a boil, after - cook over moderate heat for 10-15 minutes.
- The broth is allowed to infuse for 30 minutes.
- Strain and cool to room temperature.
Where to apply this drink? The beneficial properties of decoction are obvious, because it is widely used in the treatment of diseases:
- oral cavity and toothache (rinsing);
- nervosa (soothing bath);
- skin diseases (external);
- gastrointestinal tract diseases;
- sleep disorders;
- overweight;
- rheumatism and arthritis;
- diseases of the bladder.
Soup
Used in vegetable, meat, dairy soups. How to use spice in the preparation of such foods as soups?
Summer
Ingredients:
- water - 1 cup;
- a bunch of fresh basil;
- 500 g of tomatoes;
- onion - 2 pcs .;
- carrots - 1 large;
- Parmesan cheese - 50 g;
- olive oil - 30 ml;
- salt and pepper to taste.
Cooking method:
- Peeled onions and carrots cut into small cubes and fry in a saucepan with a thick bottom until soft.
- Stretch blanched and peeled tomatoes with a fork and add to vegetables.
- Pour in a glass of water and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Tear the basil leaves, chop the stalks in a blender.
- Add to dish, pepper and salt.
- Pour hot soup into plates and sprinkle with parmesan.
Salad
Basil leaves are added to light vegetable, fish and meat salads. Basil leaf puree is included in salad dressings. In Italian cuisine salads favorite trio: basil, mozzarella cheese and tomatoes.
Royal
Ingredients:
- 4 ripe large tomatoes;
- mozzarella cheese - 200 g;
- avocado - 2 pcs .;
- basil and lettuce - to taste.
For salad dressing:
- vegetable oil - 5 tbsp. l .;
- lemon juice - 1 tbsp. l .;
- salt and pepper - 1 pinch.
How to cook:
- Seasoning: mix butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper and leave it - let it infuse.
- Mozzarella slices.
- Tomatoes and avocados are peeled and cut into large cubes.
- Wash, dry and tear the leaves of lettuce and basil.
- Pour dressing and mix.
At its discretion, the salad is supplemented with boiled shrimps, eggs, capers.
Meat dishes
Fresh greens are used to make minced meat and kebabs from meat, meat goulash, gravy, baking, stewing any kinds of meat. In conjunction with tomatoes and garlic, gives the meat a spicy and tangy taste.
Stewed pork
What we use:
- pork - 1 kg;
- onion - 1 pc .;
- garlic - 3 cloves;
- 2-3 ripe tomatoes;
- olive oil - 1 tbsp. l .;
- purple basil - 7 leaves;
- Osmarin and paprika - 1/2 tsp;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
How to cook:
- Cut meat into pieces and marinate in seasoned olive oil.
- Green basil tear hands.
- In the frying pan with a thick bottom, place the meat and fry.
- As the ruddy crust appears, we reduce the fire.
- Add peeled and grated tomatoes, garlic and finely chopped onion.
- Salt and pepper the meat.
- Simmer for 40 minutes.
- Add green basil and simmer another 10-15 minutes.
Bakery products
Basil is added to pizza, pies and bread. Unsweetened baking gives a spicy taste and smell, emphasizes the sound of cheese and tomatoes in pizza. In sweet pastry, it emphasizes berry fillings with its sharpness, enhances their taste and aroma.
Italian bread
Ingredients for the dough:
- flour - 1.5 cups;
- dry yeast -3 g;
- salt - 1 tsp;
- semolina - 10 g .;
- olive oil - 25 g .;
- water - 1 cup.
Filling:
- cherry tomatoes - 12 pcs .;
- a bunch of basil;
- garlic - 8-10 cloves;
- 2 tbsp. l olive oil and cornmeal.
Cooking method:
- Mix all the dry ingredients of the dough, make a funnel in the middle and pour in oil and a little water.
- As you stir, water is added. The dough turns elastic and tight.
- Roll into a bowl, cover with a towel and put in a warm place.
- Cut the tomatoes into 2 pieces, lightly fry in a pan so that they do not give water in the baking process.
- When the dough will grow 2 times, roll it into a rectangular layer, sprinkled with corn flour.
- Smear the surface with olive oil, evenly distribute basil, tomatoes and coarsely chopped garlic cloves.
- Wrap a roll or envelope.
- Put in the oven. The initial temperature is 250 degrees, after 5 minutes - 220, after 20 minutes, reduce to 180 and bake for 25 minutes until a golden crust appears.
Basil is an indispensable spice for many dishes and has many beneficial properties. How exactly to use basil-decide hostess. Caucasian proverb fully emphasizes the medicinal properties of this plant: "Whoever basil chews - he lives long!". How exactly to use basil - decide hostess.
