Right now, you might be tempted to call me a tease. I promised you two mid-week recipes that would elevate minestrone soup from rustic to royal, and here you are, looking at pictures of croûtons. And basil??

Oh, reader. Trust me.

It’s all semantic anyway. I mean, the word croûton doesn’t evoke a lot, but… try these, okay? These should be called something else. They have such sharpness, such… cheekiness, really. Even insolence. Alone, they’re almost too much. Almost. But scoop a big spoonful of minestrone, top it with one of these crunchy cats, and the flavors become a song  in your mouth, no, a symphony, with base and top notes that hum parallel yet distinct from one another.

It’s all just words until you try it yourself. So try it.

Next we get to the basil. I’ll admit, I was inspired to try this when I had fried sage leaves perched on pasta at a recent wine pairing dinner. I’ll also admit, when I tried the same with basil, at first disappointed. Ocimum basilicum doesn’t cook up the way sage does. A lot of the flavor can be lost, whereas with sage, the leaves are so thick and nearly indestructible – the effect is much different.

But then I noticed something with the basil. If you fry it very quickly – 10 or 12 seconds – it gets crispy, delicate, even autumn leaf-like, but some of the fresh, piney flavor hangs on. Though there’s not much square footage between the two, there’s a striking contrast between the crumbling outside and the potent inside. When the basil leaves are still hot, sprinkle with a touch of fine salt. This brings out the full spectrum of flavors hiding in each tiny leaf.

Float them on the soup, along with a crouton or two, and, well, you’ll see.

The Recipes

Punch-You-in-the-Mouth (in a good way) Asiago Pepper Croutons
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
4 3/4-inch-thick rustic bread slices, torn into bite-sized pieces*
1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago, the sharper the better
Cracked black pepper, generously applied, plus a smidge more
Fine sea salt

*note, you can cheat and use Asiago Pepper Cheese Bread, as sold by Trader Joe’s. You’ll still want to add the cheese though

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and thyme and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add bread pieces and ¼ cup of the Asiago. Season with a generous portion of cracked black pepper, and stir to coat all the bread.

Spread bread on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle again with pepper and some salt. Bake for about 10 minutes, then add the remaining ¼ cup of Asiago, stirring again to coat. Bake another 10 minutes, or until croutons and cheese are golden.

Fried Salted Basil Leaves

I like to use the red basil, because of the way it takes on red and green streaks when it’s fried. Left too long in the oil it will lose all the ruby color; left even longer, it will get it back and then some, turning black. Don’t do that!

Wash the basil leaves and gently dry them on a paper towel.

In a skillet, heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, just deep enough to cover the basil leaves. When oil is hot enough that a droplet of water makes it sizzle, it’s ready. As quickly as you can, lay the basil leaves in the oil, covering the surface without letting them touch. Let them cook for 12 seconds. You may want to flip them gently, but if the oil is deep enough it’s not necessary.

Remove them from the heat. If the leaves are not crispy they need just a few more seconds, but watch carefully because it’s easy to overdo them and lose all the flavor. Lay the basil on a plate and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Use immediately.

Ladle up a big bowl of Minestrone, top with a few croutons and a leaf or two of basil. There, what did I tell you?

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 9:32 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.