Herbs can be an oasis in a lean, almost sugarless culinary desert. I try to highlight one each month… mmmn taste Basil.
Creamy Basil Salad complements pan fried chicken, lettuce and tomatoes so well and is a pleasant change from the more conventional vegetables for some meals in Januberry.
Here is our recipe for “Creamy Basil Salad.”
Boil 4 handfuls of dry pasta per serve, for 20 minutes. We use the large shells shape of pasta, but others such as spirals would work just as well.
Rinse the boiled pasta in cold water to cool them to room temperature.
The amounts of the ingredients to be added to the boiled pasta vary according to taste and to what is in the refridgerator. We add generous amounts of salt and pepper, 100 grams of chopped cashew nuts, a chopped up whole green capsicum and about 90 grams of green basil leaves, also roughly chopped.
Then try adding 150 mL tomato paste and 150 mL of garlic flavoured, sunflower-based aioli salad dressing and stir them in. Add more of each, depending on taste and how liquidy you want the salad to be. Refridgerate the mixture if you want to serve it chilled. Give it a stir just before serving and check if it needs a little more liquid.
Enjoy!