D  e  s  e  r  t     E  x  p  o  s  u  r  e     July 2005

Bountiful Basil

Spice up your life with this favorite herb that's now showing up at farmers' markets and in Southwest gardens.

For those of us who simply cannot live without fresh basil, this is a great time of year. The first crops of this wonderful culinary herb are showing up at the local farmers' markets, and your own garden should be providing you with a bit of a harvest.

For Southwest gardeners, remember that basil loves plenty of moisture, so water in the early morning and then again around 6 p.m. This is a good time of year to add compost or a mild liquid fertilizer to bolster the plants and help them survive the hot, dry air. Keep the blossoms pinched off and trim your plants regularly to promote healthy growth. As far as pests, whitefly may be a problem; you can use an insecticidal soap to spray on the plants to kill the insect and its eggs. This is a non-toxic yet effective way to treat this problem. If you have a large basil patch, you may want to purchase and release ladybugs. Their larvae are voracious whitefly and aphid killers and are nicknamed "aphid lions." The only other pests will be your neighbors, begging for a few cuttings for their recipes.

Basil is an ancient herb. It is native to Africa, Asia and India. In India, there are types of basil that can be bartered as money and one species that is said to protect the dead from evil spirits.

There is plenty of folklore surrounding this plant. In France, already the land of amour, if a man gives a woman a sprig of fresh basil, supposedly she will fall madly in love with him and never leave. This could be a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. In Italy, basil is also a sign of love. It is said that if a woman puts a basil plant outside her bedroom window, she is ready for a suitor. (If she puts basil and garlic outside her window it probably means she is ready to make pesto.)

Since basil is a member of the mint family it has historically been used for medicinal purposes. Supposedly, it has some sedative or calming properties. So don't serve basil tea after Thanksgiving dinner or your guests will hibernate like bears under the dinner table.

There are more varieties of basil than you can shake a breadstick at:

Anise—light purple leaves; sweet anise flavor and fragrance

Bush—small green leaves; dwarf rounded compact form; great for container gardening

Camphor—smaller green leaves,; used in teas but not in cooking.

Cinnamon—cinnamon flavor and fragrance; very aromatic

Dark Opal—deep purple shiny leaves; great for vinegars and as a garnish; a stunning background plant for the garden.

Genovese—dark green leaves; best variety for cooking; pungent and sweet.

Green ruffles—lime green, long ruffled leaves; great for cooking and as an ornamental

Holy Basil—grayish-green coarse, hairy leaves; excellent for potpourri or as an ornamental; not used for cooking

Lemon Basil—my personal favorite; smaller green leaves on tall, delicate stems; wonderful for pesto, fish, salads and sauces

Lettuce Leaf—very large, light-green, crinkled fleshy leaves; one of the best for salads

Nano Compatto Vero—very small leaves that are light green; excellent flavor

Piccolo Verde Fino—very sweet flavor; wonderful for sauces

Purple Ruffles—dark purple, ruffled leaf; a large plant that is perfect as a centerpiece for an herb garden; strong anise flavor.

Thyrsiflora "Thai"—the variety most used in Thai cooking; leaves are bright green and smooth.

O. gratissimum—grayish, coarse leaf; strong clove smell and a very spicy flavor

So, as you can see, there are varieties for every palate.

Basil is an herb that is always best used fresh. If you want to preserve some of your harvest, there are a couple of ways to do this.

One is to finely chop the leaves, then place them in an ice cube tray. Fill the tray with water and freeze. After the cubes have frozen, pop them out and store them in a freezer bag. Each cube will yield about one tablespoon of basil and you can add them to your recipes during the last 20 minutes of cooking.

To dry basil, hang a bundle of freshly cut herbs in a dry, warm, well-ventilated space away from direct sunlight for about two weeks. Crush the dried hersb and place in an airtight container. Use within six months for best flavor.

Here are some chef tips for using your basil:

• When poaching fish or shellfish or making soup stock, add several large leaves to the simmering liquid.
  
• Chop some lemon basil into your favorite chicken-salad recipe. Toss some of the flowers on top for a beautiful—and delicious—garnish.
  
• Place three large purple basil leaves into a pint of white-wine vinegar. Allow to marinate for a week. The vinegar will turn a beautiful lavender color and is great for dressings and as a marinade.
  
• Mince a handful of sweet basil and toss with pasta and bit of olive oil.
  
• If you are making and freezing pesto, leave out the garlic until you are ready to use it in a recipe. Garlic has a tendency to turn bitter when frozen.

Alice Pauser is the owner of The Kitchen Gardener in Silver City; you can visit her Web site at www.thekitchengardener.biz

Fresh Basil and Berry Parfait

You will need four medium-size parfait glasses for this recipe.

 

2 cups of raspberries, blueberries or blackberries

1 cup of fresh lemon or sweet basil leaves, stems removed

Frozen vanilla custard or ice cream

Place one cup of the berries and one cup of the basil in a blender or food processor and puree. Add an inch of frozen custard or ice cream in the bottom of each parfait glass, then a layer of puree, a layer of custard, a layer of fresh berries. Alternate until the parfait glass is full. Place glasses in the freezer for up to an hour. Remove 10 minutes before serving and garnish with a fresh basil leaf and berries.

Serves 4

Your guests will love you!

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