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Monday, September 24, 2007

Parsley and basil

I know that the song (a beautiful song) says "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme." But that is probably a bit much as a combination.

In order to fulfill two of my Ten Commandments of Italian Food, you have to go in for the fresh herbs and eat a variety of veggies. And one leads to the other. Your veggie eating will be greatly enhanced by using herbs. And here is the winning combination: (about) equal parts of the two most commonly-used herbs in Italy, parsley (flat-leaf, of course) and basil.

Try mincing both and adding to your veggies, solo or in combination. Olive oil and/or garlic is a nice addition. You can also use this combo in minestrone (pronounced mee-neh-STROH-neh and not mih-nes-TRONE) or in tomato or other vegetable-based pasta sauces. When the season, alas, comes to an end, as it must, freeze the two and continue to use as frozen. Avoid both dried parsley and dried basil.