SWING LOW, SWEET BASIL

W hen it comes to pasta, sweet basil is the first herb that comes to mind. It evokes summery feelings and I can’t wait to get my seedlings in the ground when the weather starts warming up. There is nothing more delicious than ripping freshly picked basil leaves and tossing them through silky strands of homemade pasta.

I planted my first sweet basil a week ago next to a row of tomato seedlings. These plants are made for each other, a perfect taste combination when cooking and also great companions in the garden. Whitefly and aphids, common pests of the tomato plant, don’t like the smell of basil.

As an annual, sweet basil is best grown from seed. Now is the time to bring your seeds on in trays to be planted out in early September. Perennial basil can be propagated by cuttings. Seedlings are available in nurseries now if you want to get a head start. I sow another batch of seeds in trays in late October to make sure I have enough to last through to autumn.

Basil grows well in containers and different types look good together in a pot. I love purple basil and cinnamon-scented basil. Next to the green leaves of sweet basil the colour contrast is striking.

When planting in a pot, remember to put some stones at the bottom before adding the soil to allow for drainage. Feed with a good organic liquid fertiliser once a month. Pots need watering more often because of evaporation — keep an eye on the leaves, which will tell you if the plant needs water.

All parts of the basil plant can be used in cooking. I love tossing the flowers as well as the leaves into my salad, and the stalks can be used to infuse olive oil for salad dressing.

My purple pesto is delicious on pasta or smeared over grilled chicken breasts.

PURPLE PESTO

2 large handfuls of freshly picked purple basil leaves 3 garlic cloves, peeled 2.5ml (½ tsp) salt Juice of 1 lemon 150g (1 cup) almonds 100g (1 cup) freshly grated pecorino cheese Black pepper 250ml (1 cup) olive oil Place the basil, garlic, salt and lemon juice in a food processor and blend. Add the almonds and pulse till nuts are ground quite finely. Add the pecorino and a few grindings of black pepper and, with the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil till you have a paste — not too thin. Spoon into a sterilised jar and keep in the fridge. ......................................................