1 herb, 5 recipes: basil

Basil, fresh or dried, is a powerful aromatic herb that enhances a multitude of dishes. Not only the star ingredient of pesto alla Genovese, a typically Italian recipe, basil can easily be integrated into your daily cooking since it works well in both savory and sweet recipes.

Basil, do you want some, here it is

Originally from India, basil is an aromatic plant extremely popular, particularly in Mediterranean cuisine. Its multiple varieties, with leaves of different sizes and colors, each bring a unique and distinctive flavor. Genovese basil, ideal for pesto, with large, green leaves, Thai basil, with notes of anise and licorice, often used in Asian dishes or even lemon basil, fresh and perfect for marinades and desserts. If it is found all year round in its dry version, its favorite season is summer, mainly between June and September. Suffice to say that basil announces good weather!

Enhance the basil

From starter to dessert, basil flavors all your recipes, even the simplest. Add fresh basil leaves to your salads or bruschettas. Add it without hesitation to your pasta sauces, in a pesto, a tomato sauce or just fresh and chopped when serving. Use and abuse basil to flavor meat, fish or roasted vegetable dishes: zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes, for example, go perfectly with it. On the sweet side, experiment by adding basil to sorbets, fruit salads or fruit tarts for a surprising herbaceous note. Or prepare refreshing drinks, cocktails and brew iced teas. You can also make it into flavored oil by infusing basil leaves in olive oil, perfect for cooking or flavoring salads.