Basil

About

Sweet basil has a warm, fragrant, fresh flavor, with spice notes of clove, cinnamon, anise, and tarragon layered over a minty grassiness that becomes especially noticeable when it is pounded in quantity to make pesto. Basil varieties include lemon, lime, cinnamon, and licorice-scented Thai basil, all sharing that spicy freshness. Dried basil loses the bright top notes of fresh basil but develops its own spicy, licorice-like, minty character that works well in fish stews or baked lamb.

Pairs well with basil

• CiLemonBasil's licorice-like anise notes and lemon's citrus combine well in a simple pasta sauce: a softened shallot is deglazed with white wine,…
• SuEggOf the various ways to turn scrambled eggs green, basil (usually as pesto) is considered the most successful, contributing both color and…
• FrTomatoTomato and basil is one of the most reliable pairings in cooking, forming the base of sauces, soups, risottos, omelettes and tarts, or…
• SuGarlicGarlic and basil transform canned tomatoes by pulling their flavor in opposite, complementary directions: garlic accentuates the tomato's…
• CrCoconutFresh basil provides a bright counterpoint to rich, fatty coconut, commonly scattered over Thai coconut curries for both flavor and visual…
• BeMintBasil, especially dried, can carry an unwelcome mint-like note; Ligurian basil is prized for pesto partly because it lacks this quality.
• MaShellfishBasil's citrus and anise notes, partly from the compound citral (also found in lemon and lemongrass), make it a natural match for…
• GrAniseThai basil, identifiable by its purple stems, has a licorice flavor with a hint of cinnamon, echoing star anise.
• MeChickenBasil and chicken are a common pairing but a somewhat lukewarm one: basil mayonnaise works well in a chicken sandwich, and standard sweet…
• ChHard CheesePistou, the Nicoise cousin of Ligurian pesto, differs from the Italian original mainly by omitting pine nuts and sometimes substituting…
• CiLimeLime basil, a basil variety with a citrus-scented leaf, is grown from widely available seed and is most often used with fish in Thai…
• ChGoat CheeseBasil can read as light and sweet, as in a tomato and mozzarella salad, or more intense and savory when made into pesto -- in the latter…
• ChSoft CheeseBasil's flavor combines notes of clove, cinnamon, mint and anise, making it something like the herbal equivalent of allspice.
• SpCloveBasil's spiciness partly comes from eugenol, the same compound that defines clove's flavor -- some Italian cooks add a pinch of ground…
• FfRaspberryBasil and raspberry is a pairing recommended by food writer Sophie Grigson, either combined in ice cream or macerated together with sugar…