Basil sauce is green sauce prepared using basil as a base ingredient. This sauce is often served as a popular accompaniment with many meal courses or used as an ingredient in the preparation of certain dishes, like seafood, pasta, rice, cheese and chicken dishes. The flavor of this herbal sauce is enriched by the addition of cream and garlic.

Preparation Of Basil Sauce
Basil sauce is prepared using various ingredients. The sauce preparation usually begins by boiling basil in cream or milk and flour base and seasoning it with salt and pepper before serving.

Popular Basil Sauce Recipes

• Pesto -This is a popular basil sauce from the region of Genoa, from Northern Italy. It is traditionally prepared using ingredients like basil crushed garlic and pine nuts. These ingredients are combined with Parmigiano Reggiano. Traditionally, the ingredients are crushed in mortar and pestle to make this sauce. In modern times this device is replaced hand mixer or food processor.

  Preparation - The sauce preparation begins by pounding pine nuts and garlic in a mortar and pestle. Basil and salt are stirred into the fine pine nut paste and pounded to a creamy paste. The sauce is flavored with the addition of Pecorino and Parmigiano – Reggiano. The cheese is incorporated into a sauce with the help of little olive oil. The sauce can remain fresh for about a week if stored in air tight plastic jars.

  Usage – Pesto is commonly served over pasta dish like trenette (a Lingurian dish prepared using narrow, dried and flat pastas) and is also paired with meat dishes.

   

• Basil Cream Sauce – This sauce serves as a base for cooking beef raviolis and other pasta based dishes. The sauce is prepared using ingredients like butter, freshly sliced mushrooms, green onions, garlic cloves, Italian seasoning, diced mild tomatoes with green chilies, freshly chopped basil, light cream, reduced-fat grated Parmesan cheese, and salt.

  Preparation – The sauce preparation begins by melting butter in a saucepan. Mushrooms, cloves and onions are sautéed in this butter and combined with basil, chiles, tomatoes, and cream and cooked until the sauce is thickened. Parmesan cheese is added towards end of cooking. Freshly cooked beef ravioli is tossed in this sauce before serving.

  Serving – Basil cream sauce is usually teamed with salad and garlic toast.

   

• Basil Sauce for Tortellini – This is a popular tortellini dish prepared by tossing the freshly cooked tortellini in basil sauce. Fresh cheese tortellini, tomato sauce, garlic cloves, basil, oregano, and Parmesan cheese are required to make this dish.

  Preparation – The tortellini is cooked and kept aside. Tomato sauce is combined with basil, crushed garlic, and oregano in a small saucepan and boiled. Parmesan cheese is added towards the end of cooking. Tortellini is usually served or tossed with this basil sauce.

   

• Basil and Tomato Sauce – This is one of the very popular basil sauce dishes enjoyed in many countries across the world. Tomato and basil remain the same in all basil and tomato sauce preparations. The combining ingredients largely vary depending on the region where the sauce is prepared. The sauce is prepared using olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, garlic cloves, fresh basil leaves, and tomatoes.

  Preparation – The sauce preparation begins by browning garlic in a saucepan. Basil leaves and tomatoes are added to the garlic and cooked until the tomatoes turn soft. The sauce is served after seasoning with salt-pepper.