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| Flowering basil |
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| Basil (Mediterranean type, flowering plant) |
The well-known pesto alla Genovese is a specialty of Liguria, the region in North Western Italy where lovage is native to. That paste is made from fresh basil leaves together with extra vergine olive oil, pine nuts, aromatic local cheese (parmigiano, pecorino sardo) and garlic; a dash of ground cloves might be necessary to improve the flavour of basil not grown under Italy’s hot sun. Pesto is usually served with Italian noodles (pasta). Besides tasting excellent, pesto is also efficient in preserving basil, even without deep-freezer (although it does keep better frozen).
Unfortunately, pesto is very susceptible to enzymatic oxidation by atmospheric oxygen: Exposed to air, it browns rapidly due to oxidation of its phenolic tannins to quinoid polymers. In this process, its flavour is greatly reduced. Susceptibility to oxidation is particularly high if the basil has been puréed too much, or if the pesto has been frozen and rethawed. There is no easy way to prevent this degradation: Blanching the basil leaves does inactivate the phenoloxidases responsible for the reaction, but it also destroys most of the taste. Adding antioxidants or acids also might help but would influence the flavour themselves. So, the best way is to consume pesto as quickly as possible, and to keep its container closed during most of the meal.
In southern Italy, the so-called red pesto
pesto rosso is made from sun dried tomatoes,
chiles, olive oil,
cheese, pine nuts and, of course, basil. Due to its natural acidity, it
is much more stable against oxidation.
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| Italian basil, flowering |
The recipe for pesto can be generalized to other herbs; for
example, pesto made from bear’s
garlic tastes great and also solves the problem of conserving this
spice. Very extravagant pesti can be prepared from chervil or lemon balm.
Frankfurt Green Sauce is an example of a similar sauce
employing a mixture of seven herbs (see borage).
Because of the popularity of pesto, several localized variants
are reported from all over the world, even from Australia (see
Tasmanian pepper about bush food
).
In Italian cuisine, basil is frequently combined with tomatoes, e.g. together with pickled olives, capers and garlic for tasty tomato sauces. Salads made only from tomatoes, extra vergine olive oil, red wine vinegar (see dill about herbal vinegars) and basil are simple but delicious. Basil is, though, less used for meat dishes; Italian cooks prefer oregano for this purpose.
Fresh basil may also form part of bouquet garni (see parsley), mostly in Italy.
In Georgian cooking, basil is a common herb, used to flavour the numerous
salads and cold appetizers Georgian cooking is so famous for. It is often used in
combination with other herbs like coriander and
mint; more rarely, a red-leaved variety with an
outstanding cinnamon scent is used. The popular
kitri-kamidoris salata [კიტრი-კამიდორის სალათა]
made of cucumbers, tomatoes and ground walnuts with loads of garlic may contain any of these herbs.
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| Compact and comparatively large flower clusters are typical for Siam Queen, a Thai basil cultivar suited for growing in temperate climates |
Similar use is made of basil in the Far East; it is especially popular in Vietnam and Thailand. Every visitor to Bangkok who dared to try local cuisine will probably never forget the phantastic basil aroma that emanates from nearly every pot at the numerous foodstalls. The basic ideas of Thai cookery are revealed in gai pad krapao [ไก่ผัดกะเพรา], chicken with chiles and basil: Despite a searing and truly hellish hotness, the dish provides heavenly pleasures by its subtle basil odour.
When using basil in South East Asian recipes, one should consider that Thai basil tastes rather different from the Mediterranean herb predominantly available in the West. Also, care must be taken to choose the right basil; Thai cuisine is probably the only cuisine that uses three different basil varieties, each for its own purpose. All three basil varieties should be available in Thai food stores.
Thai sweet basil (horapha [โหระพา]) is mild and has a fascinating anise flavour somewhat comparable to tarragon, but more intensive. The flavour will not tolerate prolonged cooking. The herb is often sprinkled over Thai food immediately before serving, and it is very good in hot and sour Thai soups (tom yam [ต้มยำ], see kaffir lime) or curries (gaeng [แกง], see coconut); it should not be boiled but just steeped for a minute or two in the hot foods.
Thai sacred basil (krapao [กะเพรา]) has a pungent taste that is often described as peppery although I find it more like allspice. It is most often used for stir-fries, for example the above-mentioned gai pad bai krapao, as some cooking is necessary to develop its flavour best. I often find that the krapao sold in Asian groceries is of poor quality; obviously, it suffers from the transport. Mostly for that reason, some cooks will often substitute krapao by horapha and change the cooking time accordingly.
There is a third basil variety in Thailand: Thai lemon basil, also known as hoary basil (manglak [แมงลัก]). It has a nice lime flavour and is mostly eaten raw as a garnish; its fresh citrus note goes best with fish.
A most interesting basil variety is O. gratissimum
(tree basil, often also called South-East Asian tree basil),
a wild basil distributed over the tropics of Africa and Asia. It has a
very intensive, dominant flavour of cloves,
but is even more pungent. One or two of its large, pubescent leaves are
usually enough for one pot. It will improve almost all
types of savoury foods, from roasted chicken to braised beef, but is has
a particular affinity for meats cooked in red wine.
