Basil/8 recipes

Red wine, tomato, and rosemary sauce simmers a French mirepoix with red wine, tomato paste, and fresh rosemary, then thickens with arrowroot for a glossy, fat-free finish. Versatile for meats, polenta, and pasta.

Tofu veggie burgers with rolled oats, wheat germ, soy sauce, and Italian herbs. A simple meatless burger patty that holds together and bakes on a sheet pan.

Pasta with vodka sauce: a buttery cream sauce reduced with vodka, mushrooms, and fresh tomatoes. A restaurant-style Italian classic that uses the alcohol to unlock tomato flavor.

Grilled bread salad with fresh figs, roasted red peppers, basil, and a balsamic-lemon vinaigrette. A summer grilled panzanella that turns stale bread into a smoky, fig-sweet main course salad.

White pizza no red sauce: a garlicky herb-oil base topped with three cheeses (mozzarella, fontina, parmesan) and baked hot until the crust blisters and the cheese bubbles brown.

Garden vegetable lasagna layered with sauteed mushrooms, carrots, peppers, and a three-cheese blend of mozzarella, Romano, and cottage cheese. Meatless and hearty.

Manhattan clam chowder made with 36 live clams steamed open, diced pork, tomatoes, potatoes, and herbs simmered for over an hour. A brothy, tomato-based chowder.

Luigi's bean soup simmers dried navy beans low and slow with tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil for a rustic Italian one-pot meal. Finished with grated Parmesan.

This soup is outstanding. It is rich, hearty and flavorful. The recipe is requested everytime I serve it.

Vegetarian supreme pizza on whole wheat crust loaded with steamed spinach, zucchini, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and fresh tomatoes. No cheese, all vegetables.

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.

Roasted vegetable salad with tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, zucchini, and new potatoes tossed in balsamic-garlic dressing. A farmers market side that eats like summer on a sheet pan, finished with fresh basil.

Puttanesca sauce with briny olives, capers, and red pepper flakes simmered in crushed Roma tomatoes and tossed with spaghetti for a bold, punchy weeknight pasta.

Slow cooker minestrone hamburger soup loaded with ground beef, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and tomatoes. Dump everything in the Crock-Pot and let it simmer all day.

Red potato salad with a tangy grainy mustard and yogurt dressing, scallions, celery, and black olives. Low-fat, mayo-free, and great served warm or cold.

Vegetarian lentil macaroni bake with tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and elbow pasta. Slow-baked one-pot meal with high fiber and meaty texture from lentils.