Anya von Bremzen

Fresh Basil Oil

Aceite de Albahaca

Preparation info
  • Makes about

    ½ cup

    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in
top 1000The New Spanish Table
The New Spanish Table

By Anya von Bremzen

Published 2005

  • About

A great way to add a splash of color and herbal flavor, basil oil features in many contemporary Spanish dishes. If using the oil right away, you can skip blanching the basil. If storing it, blanching helps prevent the basil from discoloring.

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups packed basil leaves
  • ½ extra-virgin or light olive oil
  • Coarse salt (

Method

  1. Bring a medium-size saucepan of water to a boil over high heat and prepare a bowl of ice water.
  2. Blanch the basil in the boiling water just until it turns bright green, 10 to 15 seconds. Drain and plunge it into the ice water. Drain the basil again, pressing it against the sieve to extract as much water as possible.
  3. Place the basil in a blender, add th