Mincing fresh basil

RRP

Rounded up our weather is 100/100 today (that's temp and humidity) so I'm staying in after having made my weekly run to the local farmers' market. I plan to whip up three batches of Spin's pizza sauce and will be using fresh basil for the first time in my life. The recipe says to use 2 T of minced fresh and 1 T of dried. Some questions are in order. How small do you mince the leaves? Can I just used 3 T of fresh and be done with it? Is too much basil a problem? PS any secret to freezing the left over basil or hhow else can it be used? Thanks! RRP

Cat

RRP,[p]Instead of mincing fresh basil I like to cut it into chiffonade: roll several leaves together and slice into very thin strips.[p]You can certainly substitute all fresh for the dried; basil varies greatly in strength & flavor, so add some and simmer, then add more if you like.[p]I've heard fresh basil can be frozen but have never tried it. I'd make pesto (basil pureed with garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese) and freeze that. [p]Cathy[p]

J Appledog

Cat & RRP,
Basil is easy to freeze. Put it in the freezer, as is, and freeze. Once frozen stiff, crumble the leaves into a zip-loc and store in freezer. JCA

Cat

J Appledog,[p]I knew you'd know. ;-}[p]Cathy

Cornfed

Cat,[p]I saw Martha Stewart make pesto then pour it into ice cube treys to freeze. Once frozen, she says to transfer the cubes to plastic bags and freeze until you want to use. The good thing about this is that you can now take out individual single servings one cube at a time when you want pesto.[p]That Martha Stewart...can't decide if she is good or evil. The only comments I can make is that she has some good tips but when I watch her hunch over the food she is preparing with her long hair flopping all over the place I just want to scream at the TV, "PUT YOUR HAIR BACK OR WEAR A HAT OR SOMETHING!!!"[p]OK...now that I got that off my chest I feel better...[p]Cornfed