Recipes with basil

Homemade beef and pork sausage seasoned with sage, cumin, aniseed, and red pepper flakes. Stuff into casings for links or shape into patties for grilling.

Vegetarian mushroom and spinach lasagna with ricotta, Swiss, Parmesan, and a roasted red pepper sauce with balsamic vinegar. Lighter than traditional lasagna.

Basil and garlic focaccia with fresh herbs in the dough and sauteed onions on top. A food-processor Italian flatbread with dimpled olive oil pockets and a crisp golden bottom.

Quick vegetarian pizza on a Boboli crust topped with fresh tomato, broccoli florets, red onion, basil, and melted mozzarella. Ready in about 25 minutes, weeknight-friendly meatless dinner.

Beef scallops with fresh tomato sauce: top round steak pounded paper-thin, pan-seared, then napped with a quick sauce of fresh tomatoes, green onions, and basil. The Italian veal-scaloppini technique applied to budget beef.

I made homemade french bread and it all came out wonderful. The sundried tomatoes were wonderful in this. Everyone loved it!

Whole brook trout poached in a white wine court bouillon with five fresh herbs, lemon zest, and spices. Served with herb butter made from the poaching liquid.

Italian turkey sausage patties with lemon zest, bread crumb coating, herbed tomato sauce, and melted mozzarella. A lighter skillet sausage Parmesan in under 45 minutes.

Black bean stew baked over brown rice with sharp cheddar, cumin, oregano, and red wine. Bubbly, cheesy, and packed with warm spices in every bite.

Pasta aglio e olio with slow-cooked garlic in olive oil, fresh basil, parsley, and Parmesan. Six ingredients, no cream, and on the table in 30 minutes flat.

Slow-cooker German peppered beef soup with red potatoes, carrots, celery, caraway, and dill. A heavy-handed peppery roast turned low-and-slow into hearty winter soup.

Crock-pot BBQ chicken slow-cooks a whole chicken in a homemade barbecue sauce of tomato passata, molasses, brown sugar, and vinegar until fall-off-the-bone tender. Hands-off, no bottled sauce required.

Rotini pasta with a chunky eggplant and three-pepper sauce simmered in white wine with garlic, basil, and plum tomatoes. Oil-free vegetarian pasta dinner built on Mediterranean vegetables.

Cheese tortelloni tossed with stir-fried cabbage, red, yellow, and green bell peppers in olive oil with basil. A colorful vegetarian pasta dinner that comes together in one hour.

Cozy lentil and brown rice soup with diced tomatoes, carrots, garlic, and Italian herbs simmered into a thick, hearty one-pot meal. Gluten-free, low-fat comfort that gets better the next day.

Fettuccine with shrimp, fresh tomatoes, basil, black olives, garlic, and Romano cheese. A quick Italian pasta toss where the sauce cooks in just 3 minutes.