COOKING WITH BASIL

By Frans Groenewald

'Cooking with Basil', a book that is as imaginative as it is witty. Brimming with unique characters; Basil, the intrepid chef with the waxed moustache and gallic charm and his adorable free range chicken, Benedict. Talented Frans Groenewald delights in fresh and humorous wordplay and draws on a pallete of gorgeous colours in his creative paintings. You almost taste and breathe the fragrance of basil, the pleasurable herb used in all the recipes. 

All recipes devised by 
The Institute of Culinary Arts

 

PORCINI, PARMESAN & BASIL RISOTTO 

40 g dried porcini mushrooms
30 ml olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped 
sea salt
50 g butter
300 g Arborio rice
1 litre chicken stock
100 g parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper
100 g butter, cubed
10 large basil leaves, chopped

Rehydrate the mushrooms by soaking them in 500 ml of lukewarm water for about 30 minutes.

In a heavy based saucepan, heat the olive oil, add the onion, salt and half of the butter and sauté for about 4 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the rice and turn up the heat; the rice will begin to fry but keep stirring. Increase the heat and add the porcini mushrooms to the chicken stock and heat together.

Add your first ladle of liquid (stock and soaking liquid) to the rice mixture. Turn down the heat to a medium simmer. Keep adding ladles of stock allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take about 15 minutes.

Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Adjust the seasoning. Remove from heat, add the parmesan cheese, basil leaves and remaining butter, stirring gently. Place a lid on the pan and rest for 2 – 3 minutes.

ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH A BASIL CREAM SAUCE

300 g angel hair pasta
400 ml evaporated milk
15 ml flour
2 cloves of garlic, minced
60 g prosciutto or parma ham, chopped
60 ml fresh basil, chopped
250 ml baby peas (fresh or frozen)
60 g parmesan cheese, grated
8 chopped tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper

Cook pasta in salted boiling water for a few minutes until tender with a drizzle of olive oil. Stir together milk and flour.

Sauté prosciutto and garlic together with the chopped basil in a non-stick pan. Add milk and flour mixture. Stir over medium heat until bubbly and thickened. Add peas and parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese has melted, then add the tomatoes. Cook for +- 1 minute. 

BASIL & OSTRICH FILLET TAGLIATELLE 
WITH CHERRY TOMATOES & OLIVE OIL

Pasta:
250 g flour
5 ml salt
2 eggs
20 ml basil-infused olive oil

Olive Oil Dressing:
60 ml virgin olive oil
10 g fresh basil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
15 ml red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Ostrich:
100 g cherry tomatoes, halved
300 g ostrich fillet, cut in strips
20 g butter
50 ml balsamic vinegar
50 ml parmesan cheese, grated

To prepare the pasta: Sift flour and salt. Mix eggs, 20 ml olive oil and 20 ml water, add to flour and salt. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, rest for 20 minutes and roll out. Bring salted water to boil. Add a little olive oil, and add pasta and cook until al dente and drain.

To prepare the dressing: Mix 60 ml olive oil with basil, garlic, red wine vinegar and seasoning.

To prepare ostrich: Add butter to a hot pan. Add ostrich strips, flash-fry for about 1 minute. Remove meat from pan. Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar briefly fry tomatoes in glaze.

Toss olive oil dressing, ostrich fillet and tomatoes with pasta. Serve immediately topped with grated parmesan cheese.

ORANGE & BASIL GRANITA

125 g sugar
250 ml water
10 g basil leaves
1 250 ml fresh orange juice
seeds of one vanilla pod
pinch of coarse salt

Bring sugar and water to a simmer over a medium to low heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in the basil and let the syrup infuse for 15 minutes. 

Stir together orange juice, vanilla seeds and salt in a shallow glass dish. Strain basil syrup through a fine sieve into the orange juice mixture. Discard basil. Chill in the freezer until the edges are frozen, about 1 ˝ hours. 

Remove from freezer and scrape with a fork, pulling from the edges into the center. Return to the freezer. Repeat process every 30 minutes until the mixture is the texture of shaved ice, about 4 hours.

COOKING WITH BASIL 
The Reci'pea Collection

Concept & Images by Frans Groenewald
Recipes by The Institute of Culinary Arts (Click here to see more!)
Published by Vespaghetti Publications
Visit: www.fransgroenewald.com 

See more in Cook's Corner

Available at L'Olive restaurant