I feel almost churlish writing about this prom queen of herbs. Isn’t it all rather obvious? She’s gorgeous, flirty, fragrant, fresh, easy, versatile—yet strong in essence—and she’ll go anywhere on earth. The girl travels! Everywhere she goes, basil is beloved. The Italians love it, the Thai love it, the Vietnamese love it, American home cooks love it, and the actor playing one on TV loves it. Is there another herb so familiar, so cozy, so “Come to Mama, and eat alla your spaghetti, my precious first-born son!” as basil?
There is something about it that sends the nose reeling, the memory spinning, and the inspiration gunning for gold. A hardy lady, she grows well in most climates, from the Californian Trader Joe’s flower mart, to the New York indoor sooty windowsill. In fact, the only thing that destroys it is frost.
And me. I am legendary for the baffling, unconscious slaughter of innocent foliage. But maybe, just maybe, if the moon is in the seventh house and all of that, I may try again someday. This herb is worth it.
The history of basil is long and full of amorous and dramatic tales of love and woe. Old Italian women cursed the leaves as they planted them, to avoid demonic possession; lovers gave each other carved pots of basil as tokens of romantic supplication. According to Wikipedia, Africans believe it protects against scorpions—but Hilarius, a famous French physician, “affirms it as common knowledge that smelling basil too much would breed scorpions in the brain.” And, Saint Basil the Great is the patron saint of hospital administrators! What could be more histrionic than that? Basil was reported to have been sprinkled liberally around Christ’s tomb post-Resurrection. It’s been used to prepare holy water, and pushed gently into the mouths of the dying to ensure that their journey to God is complete and without incident. I like to infuse it in the oil of the dressing for a fabulous salad. It also adds a wonderfully unexpected flavor to a strawberry martini.
One last tip: fresh is fabulous. You don’t want a dried-out old prom queen for a date, do you?
Photo courtesy of Colin Higgins
