We are very fortunate to live near DeBaggio’s (closed in 2020), a truly wonderful herb farm and nursery that’s been growing beautiful healthy plants since 1975. One of the ladies in the neighborhood told me about them the first year we lived here, specifically mentioning their wonderful tomatoes, so I made a point to check it out and was amazed at the incredible variety of plants they grow onsite. With only a handful of dedicated workers, they manage to grow nearly 1,000 varieties of vegetables, herbs, perennials, and annuals. The quality of their plants is always top notch because they are knowledgeable and care for the plants so well. In the last few years I’ve been fortunate to have a few casual discussions with Francesco DeBaggio, son of the founder Thomas DeBaggio, about growing rhubarb, rosemary, basil, and bay laurel trees, and our garden always benefits from those discussions.
Thomas DeBaggio has written some excellent books on herbs as well as his experiences with Alzheimer's, and I keep copies of both the Encyclopedia of Herbs and Basil: An Herb Lover’s Guide in the kitchen for handy reference. The cheese torta recipe (photo above) from Basil is delicious and easy and elegant, a perfect party appetizer, plus it’s a wonderful way to showcase garden fresh basil. Because of my fondness for DeBaggio’s books and their herb farm, I’m giving away two of Thomas DeBaggio’s books on herbs to one lucky reader. The winner will receive one copy of each of the following:
- Basil: An Herb Lover's Guide
- The Encyclopedia of Herbs: A Comprehensive Reference to Herbs of Flavor and Fragrance
To enter the giveaway, tell us about your favorite dish with basil, and please feel free to share links to recipes so everyone can find new ways to cook with basil. Please make sure to put your correct email address in the email address field so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. You don’t need to put your email address in your comment, just in the email address field. Apologies to my international readers, but the books can only be shipped to U.S. and Canadian addresses. The contest closes at 8 P.M. EST on July 23, and Random.org will select the winner. I will contact the winner via email, and the winner must respond within 72 hours, otherwise another winner will be selected. Look for the announcement of the winner in this post soon after.
[Disclosure: This giveaway is not sponsored by DeBaggio’s Herb Farm & Nursery. I am paying for the prizes myself.]
UPDATE: Congratulations to Faith Plvan, winner of the books!
Recipe Notes
Since we have some gorgeous purple basil this year, I wanted to use the deep purple leaves for the top of the torta, but of course you can use green Genovese, too. I had a limited bowl selection to choose from and found that a deep narrow domed bowl works better than a wide top bowl. If your bowl is very wide and not deep, you may need to increase the ingredients so they will fill up each layer. If served as the only appetizer, then this torta will probably feed about 12 people, but if served on a buffet with other things you can probably estimate up to 24 servings. You can make the torta one day ahead and keep it refrigerated.
CHEESE TORTA WITH BASIL, OLIVES, AND SUNDRIED TOMATOES
Equipment
- stand mixer with paddle attachment, or hand mixer and large bowl
- 1-quart domed bowl (narrow and deep is better than wide)
- small bowl
- cheesecloth
Ingredients
- 16 large whole basil leaves
- 10 ounces goat cheese, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ to ½ cup milk
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- salt (to taste)
- black pepper freshly ground (to taste)
- ½ cup finely chopped basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (drained)
- ½ cup finely chopped Kalamata olives
Preparation
- In the bowl of the stand mixer, mix the goat cheese and cream cheese, adding enough milk so the mixture is smooth and spreadable. Add 1 clove of the minced garlic, season with salt and pepper, and mix well.
- In the other bowl, combine the chopped basil with the remaining garlic and all the olive oil to make a thick paste.
- Line the 1-quart bowl with wet cheesecloth. Arrange 4 large basil leaves face down on the cheesecloth.
- Carefully spread one-fourth of the cheese mixture over the basil leaves on the cheesecloth. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, evenly distributing and spreading them to the edge of the cheese. Press down gently. Spread one-fourth of the cheese over the tomato layer. Spread the basil and garlic mixture over this cheese layer, pressing lightly.
- Add another one-fourth of the cheese, then cover it with the chopped olives, spreading to the edge and pressing gently. Add the final layer of cheese then finish with a layer of whole, large basil leaves and press gently.
- Fold the cheesecloth in to cover the torta and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- To serve, fold back the cheesecloth and invert it onto a serving plate. Carefully remove the cheesecloth from the top of the torta. Let the torta stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
momgateway says
Hi Andrea! I enjoy the licorice flavor of basil specially in Thai curry and Vietnamese Beef Soup.
Here are links to my posts:
http://momgateway.blogspot.com/2009/04/easy-thai-red-curry.html
http://momgateway.blogspot.com/2010/06/vietnamese-beef-soup-pho-bo.html
Ann
momgateway@gmail.com
Faith Plvan says
My favorite basil recipe? Why pesto of course! You just need a handful of basil, couple cloves of garlic, pine nuts, and some parmesan cheese. After chopping that in a food processor, stream in a little olive oil and then add my secret ingredients: a handful of flat leaf parsley and a squirt of fresh lemon juice!
Kirsten says
Basil is without a doubt my favorite herb...I've been known to munch on it plain! That said my favorite dish with basil is one of two. The first is my tomato basil sauce and the second is butter fried basil and garlic on pasta. I could eat both dishes all day, every day.
Oh yeah, I'm looking forward to trying this recipe with a few modifications for my dietary restrictions...Thanks!
Alisa - Frugal Foodie says
I haven't yet been adventurous with basil, so I would have to say a dairy-free sunflower seed pesto that I enjoy. Hmm, I really should experiment more!
Renee - Beyond Rice and Tofu says
I make a creamy pesto pasta with a tomato salsa on top. This torte looks good too - I love sun dried tomatoes too.
Niveditha says
Thanks for this giveaway...I love basil in the delicious veggie 'Thai basil eggplant' recipe and the flavor would be just awesome!!! The link for the recipe is 'http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/basileggplant.htm
ramvinayak_81@rediffmail.com
Rachel says
It's hard not to say pesto. When I was young, my mum used to make both pasta with pesto and pasta with alfredo sauce in one night and she'd place it carefully into the bowls in a yin yang pattern. THAT was one of my favourite meals. I'm also a pretty big fan of mixing piles of basil with ground lamb and then stuffing patties full of cheese. Finally, I've seen some basil ice creams that I've been dying to try.
But maybe my very favourite is just sneaking out onto my back porch and munching on the basil leaves plain. 🙂
Small Footprints says
I adore basil ... it's one of the herbs that is a "must" for my little patio garden. One of my favorite ways to use it is in what I call "Simple Spaghetti". We saute a bunch of garlic in some olive oil. Just before the garlic starts to brown, we turn off the heat and toss in cooked pasta. Toss it well to get all the pasta coated with the lovely garlic flavor. Then toss in fresh, chopped basil to your taste ... we like lots of it. We usually serve this with a side salad which we also put chopped basil into. It's a fast and delicious dinner.
Tricia says
Fresh summer basil is one of those things that deserves just to shine on its own, without too much fuss. But I like to make basil sodas with simple syrup. And when I'm eating out, I love Thai stirfries with basil!
jacquie says
tossed in the pan towards the ends of cooking up some fresh summer squash, zucchini & tomatoes. then add some parm on top & serve w/ a crusty bread. not fancy but so good ...
Terri says
I LOVE BASIL! I use it so much that I don't know if I can chose just one dish. I guess I would chose homemade pizza with fresh basil, sliced tomatoes and fresh mozz.
Tracey says
Basil is one of my favorite herbs and I'm so sad I didn't get a chance to grow any this year or plant my garden. It's hard to think of just one recipe wiht basil that is my favorite since there are so many different things to do with it and so many different ways to eat it. Hmm well I think infused oils are delicious and a great way to finish off dishes. Basil oils smells and taste great and I love to use it in pasta and salad dishes. This recipe is not mine, I have not posted a recipe for it, but this is how you do it. http://www.napastyle.com/recipe/recipe.jsp?productId=2652
Kathryn says
That looks SO good- I'm obsessed with goat cheese! You should try this recipe- it's a warm goat cheese salad and it's to die for!
kristy @ the wicked noodle says
Gorgeous, Andrea! Pinning!