Among the seeds I planted outside this month included Purple Dark Opal Basil from SeedSavers, a variety I selected because a friend grew it last year. She served it up at a garden party, speared with halves of yellow and red pear tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, and the contrast of colors sold me. I knew, without a doubt, that purple basil would be on the agenda for this summer.
I planted the whole packet in a pot, and then left it to germinate with the rest of my seeds. Then, one day, I walked outside and looked down.
There it was. A carpet of purple skimming the surface of the potting soil. Unlike in my other pots, where a seedling might just be grass or something else that arrived by way of the potting soil, there was no mistaking the arrival of the purple basil.
on May 12th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Dear Genie:
The dish you described sounds like these wonderful individual caprese “salads” I saw that were served by putting a cherry tomato, a small ball of fresh mozarella, and a basil leaf on a skewer and drizzling it with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Of course, I saw a picture of it this winter and haven’t felt like the tomatoes (or the basil, for that matter) have been caprese salad-worthy up to this point. I am definitely going to try it this summer. I almost think the skewers would be better without the vinegar–just a drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse salt. Sadly, my attempt will definitely not involve purple basil–for those of us who aren’t gardeners, we have to stick with basic green.
Hope you have a good weekend.
Jenny
on May 12th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Hey Jenny — I totally agree with you. Olive oil and coarse salt…end o’story! I definitely recommend trying it, with green or purple basil — either way is truly wonderful. I also applaud your patience on waiting to try the salads — I have yet to meet a winter tomato that was worthy. Have a good weekend, yourself! (And hi to the guys…)
on May 12th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
That does sound like a tasty dish. Maybe, I will wander out to get some purple basil too. :)
on May 12th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Hanna, I highly recommend it. Too bad you aren’t nearby — I’d be happy to try to transplant a seedling for you, if I could!
on May 14th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
[...] do my research. I planted Hopi Red Dye amaranth. Can you see where this is going? I was jealous of Genie’s purple seedlings the other day (and thinking I needed colors other than brown and green around [...]
on May 14th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Your purple basil plants are adorable. The way you describe using them sounds delicious. I love purple-leaved plants … and to be able to eat them is even better.
on May 14th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I love the color of purple basil. I always make a couple batches of pesto with it–the color is intense.
on May 17th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Kate, I love them, too. Can’t wait to use them…
…perhaps in pesto, per Lucette’s suggestion. Lucette, I love that idea!
on Jun 4th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
[...] options including baby parsley, baby mint, baby dill, lavender out the wazoo and even green basil, my purple basil alone fell victim late last week to a leaf [...]