Basil — season, tips, and recipes in Australia
Basil is a herbs available in Queensland during November, December, January, February, March, peaking in December, January. This page is a practical guide for home cooks: when to buy basil, how to pick a good one, how to store it, what it goes well with, three original recipes, and detailed nutrition information.
A warm-weather herb. Supermarket winter basil is greenhouse-grown with about half the flavour of summer-grown basil from a garden or market.
How to pick a good one
Bright green, fragrant, no black spots. Should smell intensely of basil when you rub a leaf.
How to store it
Never fridge. Stems in water on bench like flowers. Lasts about a week.
Goes well with
tomato: Both contain linalool and eugenol aroma compounds that amplify each other. Tomato and basil taste more of themselves together. The combination is a cliche because it's correct.
mozzarella: Basil's aromatic intensity sits against mozzarella's mild, milky creaminess and provides all the flavour work. Without basil, a caprese is just tomato and cheese.
lemon: Acid brightens basil's aromatic compounds and makes them more volatile. A squeeze of lemon on a basil-heavy dish is the difference between it smelling correct and tasting complete.
peach: Basil and stone fruit is less obvious than basil and tomato, but the anise notes in basil sit against peach's sweetness in a way that's more interesting than mint.
strawberry: The anise note in basil does something to strawberry's sweetness that's hard to describe but easy to taste. The combination is used in Italian desserts and is significantly better than the ingredients suggest.
Recipes
Classic Pesto
Blender. 5 minutes. Freezes.
Ingredients: 2 big handfuls basil, 50g pine nuts, 50g parmesan, 1 clove garlic, 100ml olive oil, salt
Method: Blend everything. Season. Toss with pasta, spread on bread, dollop on soup.
Caprese Salad
Only when tomatoes are at peak.
Ingredients: 3 ripe tomatoes, 1 ball mozzarella, big handful basil, 2 tbsp olive oil, flaky salt
Method: Slice tomatoes. Tear mozzarella. Alternate on plate. Tuck basil leaves between. Oil. Salt.
Thai Basil Stir-Fry
Fast, fragrant, different basil character.
Ingredients: 300g chicken (sliced), 2 cloves garlic, 2 chillies, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar, big handful basil, oil
Method: Stir-fry chicken in hot oil. Add garlic, chilli. Add sauces and sugar. Toss in basil at the last second. Serve over rice.
Nutrition
Two tablespoons of fresh basil provide 27% of your daily vitamin K. Contains eugenol, a compound with anti-inflammatory properties that's also found in clove oil. Rich in volatile oils with antibacterial properties. The nutritional value per gram is high for an herb, particularly in vitamin K and manganese.