Recipes with basil

Microwave chicken noodle soup made entirely in a covered casserole, with bone-in chicken, basil, rosemary, carrots, celery, and thin egg noodles. Simple sick-day comfort.

Ratatouille lasagna layers salted eggplant, zucchini, and summer squash with fresh tomatoes, herbs, and Parmesan. No pasta, no bechamel, just pure Provencal vegetables baked golden.

Turkey breast slices rolled around a herb-bright spinach stuffing with fresh basil, thyme, and lemon zest, then seared and baked with a savory mushroom sauce. A complete lean dinner with steamed potatoes and green beans.

A very simple dinner for when you don’t have a lot of time to prepare a meal. Use brown rice noodles instead of the white variety to take advantage of the additional fibre they contain. Add other steamed / fresh vegetables to make the meal more substantial.

Herb-marinated shrimp skewered on sugar cane spears, broiled and served over golden tofu with shredded daikon and balsamic vinaigrette. A stunning fusion appetizer.

Louisiana-style red beans and rice with a bold spice mix and an unexpected addition of grape juice for sweetness. No meat, all flavor, cooked from dried beans.

Pesto carbonara combining fresh basil and garlic with a classic egg-cream-Parmesan carbonara sauce over vermicelli. Crispy bacon and the heat of the pasta gently cook the egg mixture.

This creamy, low-fat dressing lends itself to salad greens, cooked or raw vegetable combinations, pasta and grain salads, or as a dipping sauce for crudites or steamed artichoke leaves.

Italian loaf stuffs pizza dough with spicy sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella, spinach, pimientos, and olives. A sliceable stromboli-style bake for game day or crowd lunches.

Sliced chicken breast sautéed with fresh herbs, tossed in a creamy white wine sauce with shallots, garlic, and chewy sundried tomatoes. A quick, elegant 30-minute dinner for six.

Quick chicken vegetable soup with potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and fresh basil. Made from scratch in one pot with low-sodium broth in under 40 minutes.

Fresh baked dinner rolls with basil and sun-dried tomatoes, that can be made ahead, frozen and baked fresh when needed.

Roasted red pepper sauce blends sweet roasted peppers with fresh basil, parsley, and garlic into a smooth, no-cook pasta sauce. Bright, light, and ready in about five minutes, with no cream or stovetop required.

Pasta with beans, the Italian-American take on pasta e fagioli, with elbow macaroni tossed into a brothy tomato base loaded with cannellini beans, garlic, and Parmesan. Rustic one-pot comfort food.

Crispy Colombian conch fritters with habanero heat, olives, pimentos, and fresh herbs. A Caribbean-style appetizer fried golden in minutes.

One-pot whole wheat couscous with brown lentils, fresh tomatoes, basil, and Parmesan in a vegetable juice broth. A filling low-fat vegetarian dinner for two, ready in about an hour.