Oven-Roasted Basil Leaves: The Better Potato Chip

Thank goodness it’s the end of the week.  Time to settle into some sweats and watch the Twins.

Once again I’m behind (as I am with many things!) on using the basil leaves from our frantically growing plants–but, I have no energy tonight to make something elaborate.

Our super-hyper basil plant is a Genovese variety, but you can use any type you like for this recipe. Did you know there are over a dozen varieties?

Luckily, my fairy godmother, The Barefoot Contessa, has a ridiculously quick and easy “recipe” (if you can even call it that) for oven-roasted basil leaves that makes for a heavenly end-of-the-week treat. If you’ve never tried these before, it may sound strange to roast something that’s literally thin as a leaf. But trust me–the basil not only stands up well in the heat, its flavor is intensified even more.  Imagine the most amazing potato chip–deliciously salty and so crispy it has a lightness to it. Now, imagine that potato chip, but with the big flavor of fresh, sweet basil.

Oven-Roasted Basil Leaves (as seen on an episode of Barefoot Contessa)

Ingredients:

• Basil leaves (I find you can fit about a dozen on a baking sheet)
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Wash and dry your basil leaves. Make sure they’re really dry so they crisp instead of wilt in the oven.
   
3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange the basil leaves on the sheet and sprinkle with olive oil and sea salt.  Toss the leaves with your hands to make sure they’re well-covered with oil and salt.
   
4. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 5-10 minutes (until leaves turn dark green and become crispy).
   
5. Gently blot/drain basil leaves with paper towel. Emphasis on gentle–when they’re nice and crispy they can crumble easily.
6. Plate and enjoy!
   

   I like putting an entire leaf into my mouth and eating it in one bite--salty, sweet, and so crispy!

Killer Steak Marinade (Made with Everything but the Kitchen Sink)

There are many people who believe that the best recipes are made up of no more than 5 ingredients. I am not in that camp.

Here’s a recipe for a steak marinade with a large cast of characters. Each adds something special, and together they tenderize and flavor the meat, making for a spectacularly juicy steak.

Though the recipe calls for a lot of ingredients, it’s easy to execute–you’ll use 2 tablespoons of each ingredient, so there aren’t multiple measurements to juggle.

Complete Cast of Characters

This recipe makes enough marinade for 1-2 large steaks. If you like a lot of flavor, use it on one steak, and if you’re less of a sauce fan, spread it out over two.

Obviously, the longer you let the steak sit with the marinade, the more flavorful and tender the meat will be. At minimum, I’d recommend letting the meat and marinade mingle for 20-25 minutes.

Start with a good piece of meat. This is a boneless prime rib.

Ingredients: (from left to right)

• 2 steaks
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (you can use fresh, I sometimes use bottled, as shown)
• 2 tablespoons of lemon taragon vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of mirin rice wine (you can find this at your regular grocery store)
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons of hot chili oil (if you don’t like spicy food, use 1/2 tablespoon)
• 2 tablespoons of Chipotle sauce (this adds a smokey flavor, not heat)–I like Tajin Chipotle which you can find in many regular grocery stores. If not, use any chipotle tabasco sauce.
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 2 tablespoons of powdered ginger
• 2 tablespoons of garlic powder

Make sure to rub the marinade into the meat, especially the powdered ingredients, so that there's even coverage.

Directions:

1. Put the steak into a bowl or baking dish where it can sit with the marinade for a while.
2. Add all the ingredients into a baking dish.
3. Take the time to rub the ingredients into the meat. The powdered ingredients, in particular, will need to be rubbed into the steak by hand to ensure even coverage.
4. Let the steak sit with the marinade for at least 20-25 minutes.
5. Cook steak–I prefer to grill. Use The Poke Test (very scientific) to check that the meat is cooked, rather than slicing into the meat, which allows the juices to escape and makes for a drier steak.

• Very Rare Steak – feels soft and squishy
• Rare Steak – soft to the touch
• Medium-Rare Steak – yields gently to the touch
• Medium Steak – yields only slightly to the touch, beginning to firm up
• Medium-Well Steak – firm to the touch
• Well-Done Steak – hard to the touch

Don't forget to let the steak rest!

6. Allow the steak to rest for a few minutes.
7. Enjoy!

Nice and Juicy!

The marinade is so successful because it covers different flavor profiles–savory (soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper), sweet (mirin, ginger), smokey (chipotle sauce), nutty (sesame oil)–while tenderiizing the meat through different acids (lemon juice, lemon taragon vinegar)–and keeping it moist and juicy with different oils (olive, sesame, hot chili).

Hope you enjoy!