All About That Basil

New York Times

a day ago

Hi everyone! Allison here, filling in for Tanya. As someone who has really leaned into vegetarian cooking this past year (meat is expensive, y'all), I couldn't be more thrilled.
After cilantro, basil is my favorite herb, found in many a windowsill garden. If you've ever dabbled in growing your own herbs, you probably know that basil is spectacularly easy, perhaps even too easy, to nurture. But that's great for us all as we tiptoe into June — it's like microdosing summer before its official start on the 20th.
Nowhere does basil shine more than in pesto. I'll buy a jar at the supermarket on a whim, and then wonder why I don't eat it every day, at every meal — but homemade is always best.
It's just plain delicious, whether it's oozing out of a baguette or flavoring some hearty soup. But the pesto preparation that I relish the most? Swirled into plain pasta, spaghetti or perhaps orzo, with a few cherry tomatoes. Bellissima.
Florence Fabricant's simple recipe, first published in 1986, is one you can easily bust out for a taste of summer on demand. And great news for those with an especially bountiful harvest of basil: It calls for two cups.
View this recipe.
Basil's power is multifaceted, and Kay Chun's tofu and cabbage stir-fry with basil wields it like a hammer; turn off the heat and add it at the end to imbue the whole dish with a piquant, peppery aroma. Same with Ali Slagle's three-cup vegetables, a vegan version of the Taiwanese comfort food three-cup chicken, traditionally brightened by Thai basil (though Italian basil stands in beautifully here).
The life-giving combo of basil and tomato is the ultimate signal of warmer weather, and Hetty Lui McKinnon knows this well. Basil is blended into the tomato-y base of this briny pasta salad, and stir-fried with tomato and bird's-eye chiles in this fried rice recipe that one reader described as 'the dish that keeps on giving.'
For a quick hit of flavor on a weeknight, blitz some basil with chives and cilantro and drizzle on top of creamy white beans, à la Colu Henry.
Basil's savory notes stand out especially when floated on a sweet backdrop, as in Maya-Camille Broussard's revelatory strawberry basil Key lime pie, adapted by Kayla Stewart. Or pair it with assertive acidity, like in this lovely lemon salad dressing.
Lastly: Never underestimate the power of a garnish. Even though basil doesn't play a key role, it's hard to imagine Sam Sifton's savory French toast without it.
View this recipe.
View this recipe.
View this recipe.
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