Now that you’re fully primed on how to grow your own basil, here are some tips on how to select the best leaves, store them and prep them. Then we’ll get to the serious business of putting your fragrant harvest to wonderful use with a handful of easy but entirely delicious recipes. Of course, you could just as easily pop to your local farmers’ market – which will no doubt be brimming with this versatile herb, and pick up a bunch. We promise we won’t tell!
Plucking, Buying & Storing
If you have a basil plant, pluck what leaves you need (go for those at the top of the plant or you’ll risk a little premature, mid-plant balding) just before you plan to use them. Rinse gently under cold water, then pat them dry. If you’re buying basil, that characteristic robust, sweet aroma is a must – if your nose doesn’t lead you to it first, you might be better off looking elsewhere. Make sure the leaves are brightly colored, verdant and succulent looking – you know, the kind that makes you want to chow down then and there. And be sure to look out for withered leaves, or ones with large dark spots or blackened edges. These pesky fellows can often be hiding behind perfectly beautiful leaves, but if you spot any, or at least more than the odd one or two, stay away from the bunch.
When it comes to storing a bunch of basil, don’t look to the fridge. The cold, dry environment will shrivel the leaves and turn them black, and they’ll spoil quickly. Instead, place the bunch in a glass of water (making sure to refresh the water every day), and keep in a cool, bright spot on the kitchen counter. This way it’ll keep for up to two week – which also means two weeks of beautiful kitchen decor.
Alternatively if you happen to have loose leaves, then the fridge is really your only option. Wrap them loosely in paper towel and place in a Ziploc plastic bag. They’ll keep 2-3 days at best, so you’ll want to use them up as quickly as you can (as if you needed another reason to splurge on more decadently creamy, fresh mozzarella).
The Prep Work
Just a couple more points before we get to the fun cooking stuff. You’ve probably heard the term “chiffonade” tossed around whenever there’s basil in the vicinity, and you may know sort of what it means, kind of… For the thoroughly and just-a-little confused amongst you, it basically means “shredded“. When you want to garnish with basil, or add it to a sauce or salad etc., it’s much better to shred the leaves into long thin ribbons with the sharpest knife you own rather than hacking it into tiny pieces. Mostly this is because chopping inevitably bruises the leaves which means that the lovely herbelious oils you want flavoring and aromatizing your food will leach out onto the chopping board. Not good. As for the sharp knife, I wasn’t just having a dig at the blunt blades you have knocking around your kitchen (hey, I have them too)! The sharper the knife, the less it bruises the leaves. Nice, clean cuts keep the delicious oils in the greenery.
Are you ready to chiffonade? Here we go. Arrange a number of medium and small sized leaves on top of one another then place the stack in the middle of a large leaf and roll up the large leaf enclosing the smaller leaves inside so you have a neat bundle that resembles a cigar. Use your wonderfully sharp knife to slice your cigar as finely as you like. Unravel the ribbons, and hey presto, a bounty of chiffonade.
Even better then “the shred,” and far less time consuming, is the simple yet unbeatable “tear”. Simply tear your basil leaves into whatever size pieces you desire and throw into, or onto, whatever you like.