This drink is an ultimate refresher, and is great for cooling you down in the summer heat. Basil can be used for more than just pesto and is a common juice ingredient in southeast Asia. In fact, basil tea and basil seed juice can be purchased in bottles, at most corner stores here in Indonesia.
When sugar is added, the leaf is transformed from a typically savoury, European ingredient to an unexpected and surprising tropical curiosity!
I first encountered basil juice in a night market in Vancouver, and later in Bali in a vegan warung (Indonesian snack stand) and have been making this juice frequently ever since. This is a simple recipe which requires few ingredients plus a blender.
For 4 servings
- 1 small pineapple
- Handful of basil leaves
- Sugar (to taste)
- 1L Filtered water
1.) Peel the pineapple, remove the leaves and tough core. Chop the fruit into small chunks and add to the blender.
2.) Wash the basil leaves, and add to the blender along with water and sugar.
*Image courtesy Flickr creative commons.
3) Blend Blend Blend! Blend the mixture for a minute or so.
4) Pour into a glass and drink!
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I love your easy yet creative recipes....great combi-s for amazing things to eat n drink! Voted #2 :)
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Very interesting I have never considered to use basil with pineapple before. Looks very refreshing and will try this one and let you know how I liked it. Thanks your drinks are interesting for sure
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This looks very refreshing and interesting. I grow fresh basil here at home and have plenty of this on hand all the time. I lvoe the smell of the leaves and at times just go by and grab a few to smell. Thank you for such an interesting idea. voted
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I understand that in some countries, basil is treated as holy or divine herb & can be used for multiple consumption sytle. Seems very refreshing, specially in hot summers we have! Voted.
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Voted. How unusual, and it does sound delicious and refreshing! I always think of basil as a savoury ingredient, but someone else on this site gave us a summer drink recipe last year which also contained basil (I think it was raspberry and basil). I must try!
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Super deelish! Thanks for posting. :). Please vote for my new lentil curry post if you fancy it. Cheers.