Name: Basilico Ripieno (Stuffed Basil Leaves)
Yield: Makes 36 filled leaves
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 36 large fresh basil leaves, unblemished and fragrant; 2 ounces/50 g (after the crusts have been removed) Italian white bread, softened in milk (you may use unflavored bread crumbs in place of the softened bread, but the result will be heavier); Sea salt to taste; Approximately 2 tablespoons/30 ml Ligurian extravirgin olive oil (per pan); Freshly ground black pepper to taste; 2 ounces/50 g finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano; 2 large eggs; 2 ounces/50 g prosciutto, very finely minced; 4 tablespoons/30 g unfavored bread crumbs

Preparation info

Makes
36
filled leaves

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Recipes from Paradise

By Fred Plotkin

Published 1997

About

While Ligurians favor the smallest basil leaves possible when making pesto or using the herb in cooking, they would not consider wasting larger leaves, so they cleverly found another use for them. I was introduced to this recipe for stuffed and fried basil leaves by Licia and Bruno Soprano, who own an excellent kitchenware shop in Oneglia (Imperia). It is an ancient preparation, born of the needs of poor people with few ingredients available to them, but I am certain that when this recipe b