Basilic

30 Septembre 2008

Basilic belongs to what we call "aromates" or "herbes aromatiques". We use it in some French recipes but it's much more common in the South of France and in summer.

You can buy "basilic déshydraté", it means it's dry and often in a small pot (you can see photos at the bottom of this article). You'll find it in the "condiment" aisle of your supermarket, close to salt and pepper.

But you can also find "un pied de basilic'.
Un pied de basilic is the complete plant :

You can find it on an open market but not in a supermarket. You might also find it in a "jardinerie" a special gardening shop.
The advantage of a "pied" ("pied" means "foot" !) is that you can keep it a long time and you will always have some fresh basil at home. It's very good.

How can I use it ?
You don't need to heat or cook it. You can add a few chopped leaves in your salad or any vegetable.
But if you cook vegetables, basil can also be cooked.
Basil goes very well with vegetables like : tomatoes, peppers (poivrons), courgettes, fish. We do not really use basil with meat.

A very good "mariage' is : basil + olive oil.
Just try, it's a good seasoning for vegetables like tomatoes, especially in summer.

See basil recipes