Basil/4 recipes

Goong Pad Pong Garee: Thai curried shrimp stir-fried with garlic, fish sauce, oyster sauce, bell peppers, and sweet basil. From skillet to plate in 15 minutes. Serve over jasmine rice for an authentic Thai dinner.

Eggplant Siciliano layers eggplant, Italian sausage, marinara, mozzarella, and Romano lasagna-style. No breading, no frying. A heartier, meatier cousin of eggplant Parmesan baked in the upper third of the oven.

Chilled pasta shells layered with basil pesto, spinach, Roma tomatoes, black olives, and shrimp. This make-ahead Italian pasta salad is a crowd-pleasing potluck star that only gets better as it sits.

Three tomato salad with red, yellow pear, and cherry tomatoes plus mushrooms in a balsamic-mustard vinaigrette with fresh basil. A colorful, low-fat summer side.

Red wine braised chicken thighs with shiitake mushrooms, tomato, and herbs over orecchiette tossed with basil and sun-dried tomatoes. A rustic Italian bowl that eats like Sunday supper.

Soupe au pistou, a Provencal vegetable soup with white beans, potatoes, pasta, and a fresh basil-garlic-olive oil pistou stirred in at the table. France's answer to Italian minestrone.

Classic French ratatouille with eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and fresh herbs. A vegan Provençal stew that freezes beautifully in meal-sized portions.

Couscous with tomato-eggplant sauce simmered with green pepper, garlic, and a Mediterranean herb blend. Hearty, low-fat vegetarian one-skillet dinner.

Broiled tomato-pesto sandwiches layer fresh basil-parmesan pesto on toasty bagels, topped with ripe tomato slices and bubbled under the broiler. A quick vegetarian lunch ready in 15 minutes.

Fish stuffed peppers with orzo tuck marinated rockfish inside warm roasted peppers over garlic-tomato orzo with basil. Mediterranean fish dinner with a bright coriander-lemon marinade.

Parmesan breaded chicken dipped in buttermilk and coated with seasoned breadcrumbs, Parmesan, oregano, rosemary, and basil, then baked covered until juicy. An oven-baked Italian herb chicken.

Champagne-braised chicken casserole layered with peas, baby carrots, new potatoes, and cream of mushroom soup. A showstopper one-dish dinner.

Eggplant macaroni bake layers tender eggplant, fresh tomato, and basil with parmesan-tossed macaroni, topped with cheddar and baked bubbly. A light, vegetarian pasta casserole that skips the heavy cream sauce.

A lighter chicken pesto pasta with a yogurt-based spinach pesto, fresh basil, pine nuts, and Parmesan tossed with penne. Half the fat of traditional pesto, all the flavor.

Quinoa tabbouleh swaps traditional bulgur for protein-rich quinoa in a parsley-forward Lebanese salad with scallions, lemon, olive oil, and garlic. Gluten-free, vegan, refreshing.

Easy lasagna with jarred spaghetti sauce, cottage cheese instead of ricotta, and a simple meat layer. Weeknight-friendly with big shortcut flavor.