Without a shadow of a doubt, basil is my all time favorite herb.  I think if you ask a roomful of anyone of Italian ancestry (or perhaps any ancestry) what their favorite herb is, basil will probably score a solid 50%.  If you have some fresh basil and other herbs present when you ask the question, and allow those you are polling to take a whiff of the herbs as they decide, the number will probably climb to 75% or more.  The scent of fresh basil is simply mesmerizing.  Indeed it is.

When I worked in the foodservice industry (it seems like an eternity ago, even though it has been just over a decade since I quit) I worked in an Italian restaurant in Cape Coral, Florida.  Bill, the Executive Chef, and I insisted on fresh basil and only fresh basil for all of our basil needs.  You simply cannot cook great Italian food without fresh basil.  It is like trying to make Mexican food without cumin or French food without butter (or irate chefs smoking nasty smelling cigarettes).  Fresh basil, like garlic and olive oil, is a staple in an Italian kitchen.

I remember one time when we got in a bag of fresh basil, and Bill grabbed a handful of it and inhaled deeply as he crushed the fresh leaves, releasing the aroma for all to experience.  As he let his breath out he sighed the sigh of someone who has achieved emotional Nirvana and said “I hope Heaven smells like this.”

Ah yes...I am willing to bet there are at least a couple great Italian cooks in Heaven.  Or perhaps some great Thai cooks, as fresh basil figures prominently in Thai cuisine as well.

My Nonna grew fresh basil all over the yard every summer.  It was in the backyard garden (as a companion plant for tomatoes).  It was planted around the sides of the house (along with parsley), and it was found among the flowers in the front yard.  She would send me out to pick some every time she made pasta, or meatballs, or salad, or just about anything else.  Heck!  I had no idea anyone ever bought basil until I started working in the restaurant business.  I figured basil (and parsley and mint) just grew in your yard like grass, dandelions, and weeds.  I guess I was a bit spoiled by my Sicilian upbringing.

It was indeed my Nonna who got me to love basil, and it is because of her that I now grow it every summer as well.  I do not plant it all over my yard like she did, however.  I usually plant one or two plants in a large pot every summer and it sits on the edge of my back deck under the grape vines, where it gets plenty of the scorching Livermore, California sunshine it seems to enjoy.  It costs me about $2 for a young plant, and I usually put one in at the end of May, and start harvesting the tops within a week or two.  I only water it when it starts to droop, as overwatering tends to water down the intense flavor.  Every time I pick off a top it splits off into two new shoots, each producing their own tops.  By the end of the summer I often end up with a very bushy plant which delivers more than enough basil for my basil loving needs.  As long as I keep this up the plant will not flower all summer, which is the last stage of life before death.  Flowers, though they look pretty, are not a good thing for a basil plant.  Besides the fact that the plant goes to seed and dies, the flowering basil plant tends to take on a somewhat bitter flavor.  Keep pinching off the tops and the flowers will not come.

So what do I use basil for anyway?  Well, for starters, I use it every time I make tomato sauce.  I like to add some torn basil leaves when I start cooking my sauce and then add a little more just before I serve it with pasta.  In Sicily my family likes to bring some fresh basil to  the table and tear bits of it right onto the top of their pasta, which I often do as well.  If one goes to a Vietnamese noodle shop (there are plenty of them in Northern California) the typical condiment dish served with a bowl of steaming Pho noodle soup is a plate of bean sprouts, sliced hot peppers, lime wedges, and fresh basil leaves.  One adds this to their bowl of soup as seasoning right before consumption.

I also love to tear pieces of it onto a Pizza Margherita (tomatoes, cheese, basil) which is, after all, THE original pizza.  In fact, fresh basil leaves are excellent on just about any pizza.  The slightly sweet and fragrant flavor truly goes with just about anything else that goes well on our favorite baked dough discs (both sweet and savory).   As the summer progresses I find myself putting it in just about everything I create. No matter what, nobody seems to find basil out of place.  It is the ever present and welcome summertime guest.

Alas, summer must eventually come to a close.  As I sit here at the end of September and marvel at the 100 plus degree days we are experiencing (Indian Summer as “they” call it), I know that my basil plant’s days are numbered.  Within a few short weeks the night air will approach freezing and the tender basil leaves will wither and eventually the plant will die.  It is a sad reality every basil plant and every basil plant owner must face every year.  Sure, you could try to extend its life indoors, or even in a hothouse (if you have one), but the circle of life must be completed eventually.  As the end draws near I like to begin harvesting larger amounts of basil and making some dishes that are basil-centric in composition, and some which allow me to preserve the basil characteristics for some time after my plant has gone to basil Heaven.  I do not care very much for dried basil, as it does not come anywhere close to the pungent and vibrant character of the fresh product.  I do not want to say I dislike dry basil.  That would not be entirely accurate.  I simply am always crestfallen when I pick up a bottle of dried basil, and my food memory mind begins racing with thoughts of fresh basil, and then as I open the bottle I am reminded that we are not dealing with the same thing here, and I am disappointed.  It is like an herbal letdown. 

Who needs that in their life?

Yet there are ways we can preserve more of the basil character.  We can roughly chop the leaves and toss them in a little olive oil and freeze the oily green mass, chopping off a little right out of the freezer to use is sauces as we need them.  This works fairly well.  I have been able to store basil all winter this way for using in tomato sauces.  Once thawed it really is not good for much else, however.  In fact, if I know I am going to make tomato sauce and happen to be in a grocery store I will often buy fresh basil in the produce section.  It is generally not quite as pungent as my home grown, but it is ALWAYS better than dry or frozen basil. 

A better way to capture the basil essence is in the classic Basil Pesto, which I am sure every basil lover knows well.  Pesto Alla Genovese originates from Genoa, Italy (home to Christopher Columbus, among others) and is traditionally made by by mashing basil leaves with some coarse salt, garlic, and pine nuts in a mortar and pestle, and then adding cheese and olive oil (and other seasonings if desired).  In fact, the word “pesto” is contracted past participle of pestâ, which means to pound and crush.  The first time I had pesto was when I worked at That Place On Bellflower in Cleveland, Ohio (a great restaurant in the 1980’s), and I fell in love with it.  Nonna did not make pesto because, as I mentioned earlier, Italian cooking is very regional, and she was not from Genoa.  I remember making it for her once and she loved it.  I was always happy to show “the master” what “the student” had picked up along the way.

All through the 1980’s and 1990’s I remember seeing pesto made in nearly every kitchen I worked in.  It was almost always made the same way.  Someone would load a blender or food processor with basil, garlic, nuts (pine nuts or any other nut), cheese, and olive oil and let the mixture chop and mix until it was a mottled green sauce.  This was then used in many ways, but mostly simply tossed in a hot pan with some noodles and served to waiting guests, who would gobble it up with fervor.  It was (and still is) very popular, and utterly delicious.

...but could it be better?

Being almost anthropological in my quest for great food preparations I did a little soul searching (and book searching) to learn more about this great pasta topper. That was when I discovered that everyone was making it wrong.  Nobody was doing any pounding or crushing.  Everyone was simply pressing a button on a machine and letting it do some chopping.  This was certainly understandable, as even some of the finer establishments I worked in did not have a mortar and pestle in sight.  I am sure most great restaurants have them around today, but in the 1980’s and 1990’s they were considered about as necessary as an ice pick.  We had blenders and food processors and spice grinders to do our bidding, so why would anyone need a mortar and pestle?  Where did one even get a mortar and pestle?

Well, my dear reader, a mortar and pestle eventually made its way into my life.  Interesting cooking tools have a way of finding people who love to cook, wouldn’t you say?  It was given to me by my (then) Mother In Law, and it hailed from Puerto Rico.  It was a lovely wooden affair, with a copious bowl and a nice heavy wooden pestle.  It simply begged to have something crushed and pounded in it, and I was only too happy to oblige.

I am not sure if pesto was the first thing I made in it, but it was definitely one of the first things I made in it.  I tore some basil leaves, threw them in with some coarse salt, a couple of peppercorns, and some garlic cloves and began crushing and pounding.   I have to tell you it was a long and tiring process, and I am certain cooks in Genoa must have some pretty strong forearms if they still do it the old fashioned way.  It took about 10 minutes to get it into something like a paste, and then I added some nuts and kept crushing and pounding.  Once I had something that looked like a paste, I stirred in some olive oil and some grated Parmesan cheese, and stood back to admire my work.  It was darker in color than the food processor product, and not quite as pretty, but I was not interested in looks.  I wanted to know how it tasted.

That evening I made a batch of pasta and tossed the drained hot noodles in Pesto Sauce I had created.  It was quite an eye opener.  The basil flavor was definitely much more intense than it had been in any other pesto I had ever tasted.  In fact, it was almost too intense.  I decided to use a little less the next time I made the dish.  About 2/3 of what I would normally use would turn out to be plenty.

...but why the difference?  What made it so much more intense?

Well, lets thing about this for a minute.  When you chop the basil you break up the leaves, and the basil flavor is released by the bruising caused by the chopping.  When you crush the basil with a mortar and pestle you bruise the entire leaf and release all of the basil flavor.  You literally squeeze the flavor out of the leaves, and into your sauce.  There is no way you can get this same effect through chopping.  If you do manage to chop your product fine enough to do this in a food processor or blender, the heat of the blades (friction) will cause the essential oils to evaporate.  The less intensive and more Zen mortar and pestle approach is the perfect way to get the most from your basil, and it is how I ALWAYS make my pesto now.

I do enjoy the somewhat subtle flavor of the traditional pine nuts in a pesto sauce (for maximum flavor toast your pine nuts first), but I have made great pesto from walnuts, cashews, almonds, toasted sunflower seeds, and my all time favorite - pistachios.  I love the added green color pistachios add to my pesto, and the pistachio flavor is no slouch either.  I prefer buying local California pistachios in the shell and shelling them as I need them for my pesto.  The pre-shelled pistachios do not seem to ever taste as good as they do when I shell them myself, so I tend to shy away from them.  Here is how I make mine:

Basil and Pistachio Pesto

Yield: Approximately 1 Cup

Note: Classic pesto is made with pine nuts, but any nut will work fine, and you can mix an match nuts.  If you have a nut allergy, toasted sunflower seeds work well.  If you use salted nuts (or seeds) in this recipe, eliminate the additional salt.  You may also used any hard grating cheese you like for this besides Parmesan (Romano, Asiago, or anything else).  If you are using this for seafood preparations you may wish to leave out the cheese.

1/2 cup (loosely packed)  Fresh Basil Leaves

1/2 teaspoon  Coarse Sea Salt

2 cloves  Fresh Garlic

1/4 cup  Roasted Pistachios

A few grinds of Fresh Pepper (or a couple Fresh Peppercorns)

1/4 cup  Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons  Grated Parmesan Cheese

1. • Roughly tear the Basil Leaves and put them in a Mortar with the Coarse Salt and start pounding them to a pulp.  You can also add Peppercorns at this point, if you choose to use Peppercorns.
   

2. • Add the Garlic and keep pounding until you have a nice paste.
   

3. • Add the Roasted Nuts and Pepper and keep pounding.
   

4. • Once you have a nice rough looking paste (you can pound longer to make it smoother if you like) stir in the Olive Oil and Cheese.
   

5. • This can be stored in a refrigerator for a week or Frozen indefinitely.
   

This absolutely fabulous sauce can be tossed with boiled and sliced potatoes, pasta, served as a condiment for meats and seafood, served as a spread for crusty bread, on pizza, or spread on meats and seafood before cooking.  It is good on just about anything.  I decided to cook some jumbo shrimp and toss them in some of this pesto for dinner.  Here is what I put together:

Jumbo Shrimp with Pesto and Lemon

Yield: Approximately 2 Servings

Note: This is also great with any shellfish (such as lobster) or with scallops.

For The Shellfish Stock:

Shells from 1 pound of Shrimp

1 each  Minced Shallot

1 teaspoon  Bell Pepper

1 sprig  Fresh Thyme

3 each  Black Peppercorns

1/4 teaspoon  Crushed Red Pepper

1 stalk  Lemongrass

1 sprig  Fresh Fennel

1 Tablespoon  Butter

1/4 cup  White Wine or Cognac

Water

1. • Remove the shells from the Shrimp (or other Shellfish) and put them in a small heavy bottomed pot with all the remaining ingredients except the Wine or Cognac.
   

2. • Sauté the ingredients together over low heat until the Shallots start to caramelize.
   

3. • Add the White Wine or Cognac and scrape the bottom of the pan while cooking over high heat.  Be careful if adding Cognac as it will have a tendency to flare up, which could severely burn you.
   

4. • When the liquid has reduced by half add enough Water to cover all the Shells and turn the heat down low.  Simmer over low heat for approximately 30 t0 45 minutes, or until the Stock has a nice seafood flavor.
   

5. • Remove from heat and strain the Stock, reserving the liquid (discard everything else).  Return the Stock to the saucepan and cook it until it is reduced by half.
   

6. • This can be used immediately or frozen for later use.
   

For the Final Dish:

1 pound Peeled and Deveined Jumbo Shrimp

1 Tablespoon  Butter

1 Tablespoon  Olive Oil

1 each  Fresh Lemon

1/2 cup  Shellfish Stock

1/4 cup  Pesto

1. • Heat the Butter and Olive Oil in a sauté pan until very hot (but not burnt).
   

2. • Add the Shrimp and quickly sauté them until the begin to take on some color (caramelize).
   

3. • Squeeze in the Fresh Lemon and then add the Stock and cook this over very high heat until the liquid reduces and begins to thicken.
   

4. • Add the Pesto and quickly toss the shrimp to coat.  Serve immediately.
   

This is absolutely fabulous served over pasta, or with just some fresh crusty bread, or over some rice.  I especially love serving it over some Brown Rice Almondine:

Brown Rice Almondine

Yield: Approximately 3 to 4 Servings

Note:  This can also be made with white rice or even wild rice (although both white and wild rice require slightly different cooking techniques).

1 cup  Brown Rice

3 cups  Water or Stock (Chicken or Vegetable Stock are both great)

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/4 cup  Almonds

1 Tablespoon Butter

1. • Wash the Rice in cold water.  Drain and set aside.
   

2. • Melt the Butter in a small saucepan and toast the Almonds in the Butter until they are nicely browned.  Remove the Almonds and set them aside.
   

3. • Add the Rice to the Butter in the pan and stir to coat.
   

4. • Add the Salt and Water (or Stock) and bring to a boil, stirring no more than two times after the boil.  Let this boil over medium heat until the liquid drops to the level of the Rice.
   

5. • Cover with a tight fitting lid and set the heat to the lowest setting and let the Rice steam for 45 minutes.
   

6. • Remove the cooked Rice from the heat and add the Almonds.  Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.
   

Brown rice still has the bran on it, which makes it about a million times better for you than white rice (okay, maybe I am am exaggerating) , and it tastes better as well.  I do love white rice, but I feel a bit guilty when I eat it because I know brown rice is better for me.  White rice also cooks faster and is not quite as finicky.  Also keep in mind that brown rice, because it has the bran on it (which contains rice bran oil) tends to go stale if not used quickly, unlike white rice (which seems to improve with age).

I would be lying to you if I told you that my favorite savory basil preparation was pesto.  Although it is way up at the top of the basil food chain, my favorite savory basil preparation was one which the “acting” chef of That Place on Bellflower in Cleveland, Ohio taught me back in the 1980’s.  I say “acting” chef because he was never officially appointed the position of head chef after Chef Bernard left and became the PM Magazine TV Chef.  The seniority fell to a gentleman named Tom, but everyone called him “Hooper” (for reasons that still make no sense to me).  Anyway, Hooper made this truly amazing sauce he simply called Tomato Caper Basil Butter, which was a sort of ultra rich and buttery tomato sauce absolutely exploding with flavor, and it was THE ideal sauce to serve with just about any fish (or chicken) dish - grilled, poached, roasted, or however else you like it.  The preparation was really quite simple, and although I have made it many times over the years, this is the first time I have bothered to write it down.  Here is how I do it:

Tomato Caper Basil Butter

Yield:  Approximately 1 Cup

Note: This is best made just before serving, but it can be refrigerated and reheated for later use.

1 teaspoon  Olive Oil

2 teaspoons  Capers (in brine or salt, rinsed well if in salt)

1 clove  Minced Garlic

1 each  Minced Shallot

A few Grinds  Black Pepper

1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper

1 cup  Diced Ripe Fresh Tomatoes (peeled and seeded)

1/4 cup (loosely packed)  Parsley Leaves

1/2 cup (loosely packed)  Basil Leaves

1/4 cup  White Wine

At least 4 Tablespoons  Whole Butter (for finishing)

1. • Heat the Olive Oil until very hot and add the Capers. Fry until they begin to brown.
   

2. • Add the Garlic, Shallots, and Peppers and fry until the Shallots begin to caramelize.
   

3. • Add the Tomatoes and let them cook until simmering.
   

4. • Chop the Parsley and Basil fine and add it to the mixture along with the White Wine.
   

5. • Turn the heat down very low and cover this, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
   

6. • Remove the cover and stir.  Turn the heat up and let most of the liquid evaporate.  It should be very thick and pasty.
   

7. • Turn off the heat and whisk in whole Butter, a pat at at time, until the Sauce is thick and starts getting velvety.  You can add as much Butter as you feel your heart can take.  Just whisk it in after each addition.
   

8. • Serve immediately on whatever food your heart desires.
   

I decided to make this sauce to serve on some oven roasted/broiled cod. Here is how I made the cod:

Oven Roasted Cod

Yield: Approximately 3 Servings

Note: You can use any fish you like for this preparation. If serving a sauce on it you can leave out the garlic (or leave it in if you love garlic).

1 pound   Fresh Cod Fillets (boned and skinned)

1/2 teaspoon  Olive Oil

1/2 each  Fresh Lemon

1/4 teaspoon (or to taste)  Sea Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

1 clove  Minced Garlic

Ground Paprika

2 Tablespoons Whole Butter

A Little White Wine

1. • Brush the bottom of a heavy ovenproof frying pan (copper or cast iron are great) with the Olive Oil.
   

2. • Place the Fish Fillets in the pan, flesh side up.
   

3. • Squeeze 1/2 Lemon on the Fish and splash with a little white wine.  Sprinkle lightly with Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and the minced Garlic.
   

4. • Dot the top of the Fish with the Butter.
   

5. • Heat your oven broiler and place the oven rack just above the middle of the oven.  Place the pan in the oven and close the door.  Leave it in there for 10 minutes (for thick fillets, for thin fillets check at 7 minutes).
   

6. • Open the door and use a spoon to bast the Fish with the pan juices.  If the fish is not flaking easily, leave it in for another 2 minutes.  DO NOT OVERCOOK YOUR FISH.
   

7. • Serve immediately with the pan juices poured over the fish.
   

I made this and draped a generous amount of the Tomato Caper Basil Butter on it.  Make sure you serve some crusty bread as well because everyone will want to sop up the delicious sauce.

Okay, so we have now gone over some great savory preparations, but what about some sweet preparations?  I am sure some of you have had the opportunity to try basil in a dessert type setting, but maybe you have not.  I have to inform you that if you have not you are missing out.

First of all, Basil is a member of the Mint Family.  I remember my Nonna using some fresh mint in her meatballs (after the basil had died, since the mint seemed to hold on longer), and finding it remarkably basil-like in character.  If you slowly savor some fresh basil you can pick up on some of the minty notes (especially peppermint).  We all know that mint is at home in our favorite sweets, so basil should naturally fit in as well, and it certainly does.  Indeed!

The first sweet basil preparation I can remember tasting was a wonderful Opal Basil Sorbet that Sammy’s In The Flats (one of the greatest restaurants in Cleveland’s history) served as a palate cleanser.  A palate cleanser is generally served in between courses to “cleanse” the palate and prepare it for the next course (usually between the appetizer and entree in my experience, but it can occur anywhere - I imagine).  A small serving of Sorbet is common.  At Sammy’s we made the Opal Basil Sorbet by boiling some simple syrup, adding the opal basil, and letting it steep off the heat like a tea.  Once it was cool we strained the simple syrup out of the mixture and churned it in an ice cream maker.  Opal Basil has a deep purple color, and when the color turned into a pale yet vibrant pinkish violet color in the finished sorbet.  The flavor was unbelievable, with hints of mint and licorice.  I instantly fell in love with it.

Over the years I toyed with the notion of making sweet preparations with basil, trying my hand at a few here and there.  I began noticing instances where I felt basil would be an ideal suitor for the flavor marriage, and came up with what I felt were some real winners.

Perhaps my favorite basil sweet was this Orange and Basil Sorbet:

Orange and Basil Sorbet

Yield: Approximately 1 Quart

Note: If you have some maltodextrin (a sugar starch, totally natural), available at brewing supply stores, substitute a Tablespoon of it for a Tablespoon of the sugar when you make your simple syrup.  This will help stabilize your sorbet and give it a smoother consistency.  You may also substitute other citrus fruits for the orange, or mix and match citrus fruits.

1 cup  Granulated Sugar (substitute 1 Tablespoon of Maltodextrin for 1 Tablespoon of the sugar for smoother texture and better stability)

1 cup  Water

1/4  Vanilla Bean (split and scraped)

-------------

Juice and Zest of 14 Oranges, or a mixture of Oranges and Mandarines (Tangerines) - 3 cups total Juice

1/3 cup  (loosely packed)  Basil Leaves

2 oz.  Peach Brandy Liqueur or Limoncello Liqueur or Orange Liqueur

Pinch of Salt

1. • Make a Simple Syrup by combining the Sugar (and Maltodextrin), Water, and Vanilla Bean.  Bring this to a boil and set aside.
   

2. • Use Microplane Zester to remove only the very outermost layer of Orange Zest.  You want to avoid the bitter white pith.
   

3. • Roughly tear the Basil Leaves and combine with the Zest in a bowl, and crush the Basil and Zest to bruise it all thoroughly.
   

4. • Juice the Oranges (and Mandarines) and add the Juice to the bowl. 
   

5. • Add the Simple Syrup and Liqueur and let this mixture sit overnight in a refrigerator.  The Liqueur helps the mixture not freeze too hard and also helps extract maximum flavor from the Basil and the Zest.
   

6. • Strain the mixture through a fine strainer and churn in an ice cream maker until frozen.  Freeze until firm.  If you do not have an ice cream maker freeze it into a granita by freezing in a shallow pan in your freezer, taking it out every 20 minutes or so and stirring it to break up the ice crystals.
   

7. • Serve as a palate cleanser or as a light dessert.
   

This is soooooo refreshing it boggles the mind.  The brightness of the basil flavor goes amazingly well with the citrus.  This is a fantastic dessert on a hot day.  My children love this, and the fresh juice and basil are both great for them.  This is a great way to use up any surplus basil, as the frozen sorbet will keep indefinitely.

Another idea came to me as I was enjoying some Breyer’s Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  You can probably guess where I am going with this.  Since basil is a mint family member, I decided that Basil Chocolate Chip Ice Cream would probably be delicious.  My gamble paid off, and I nailed it!  We just finished devouring our first batch last night, and I am hoping I can get one more growth of basil before the freezing nights hit us, so I can make it again.  Here is my formula:

Basil Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Yield: Approximately 1 Quart

Note: This is somewhat of a cross between gelato and French style ice cream.  It is not quite as light as gelato but not quite as rich as French ice cream.  I think it has great balance.  Substitute a Tablespoon of maltodextrin for a Tablespoon of the sugar in this recipe for a smoother texture in the finished ice cream (if you wish).

6 each  Egg Yolks

1 cup  Granulated Sugar (substitute 1 Tablespoon of Maltodextrin for 1 Tablespoon of the sugar for smoother texture and better stability)

Pinch Salt

-------

4 cups  Half-N-Half

1 each  Vanilla Bean (split and scraped)

1 cup (loosely packed)  Basil Leaves (roughly torn)

-------

1 - 3.5 ounce bar  Semi-Sweet Chocolate (for Chocolate Flakes)

1. • Combine the Egg Yolks, Sugar (and Maltodextrin), and Salt and beat well with a whisk.
   

2. • Combine the Half-N-Half and Vanilla Bean and bring to a boil.
   

3. • Pour 1/2 of the boiling mixture into the Yolk mixture and whisk in (to temper the Yolks).  Add the Basil Leaves.
   

4. • Put the remaining Half-N-Half back on the heat and then whisk in the tempered Yolk/Basil mixture.
   

5. • Cook this using a silicone spatula, constantly scraping the bottom and sides of the pan, until the mixture thickens.  It should coat the spatula and when you run you finger along the spatula it should leave a streak that does not run.  Be VERY careful to not let the mixture boil or it will curdle.  I usually cook it until it looks close (a good way to tell is when the foam bubbles on top of the mixture are almost all gone), and then turn off the heat and let the retained heat in the pan and mixture finish the cooking process.  This takes no more than a couple of minutes.
   

6. • Pour the mixture in a bowl which is set in another larger bowl with ice in it (an ice bath) and stir the hot mixture over the ice bath until it is cool.
   

7. • Refrigerate the mixture overnight.
   

8. • To prepare the Chocolate chop it very fine and heat it in a microwave (carefully, about 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating session) or over a double boiler.  You want it to be smooth and hot (but not burnt).  You are trying to break the temper (the opposite of tempering) in order for the Chocolate to melt quickly when it touches your tongue out of the freezer.  Spread it thinly over two sheets of parchment or waxed paper and freeze until solid, then remove it from the paper by quickly crumbling the paper over a bowl right out of the freezer.  Work fast because the Chocolate will melt within a few seconds at room temperature.  If the Chocolate on the paper starts to melt, put it back in the freezer and try again.  Store the bowl of Chocolate Flakes in the freezer until the ice cream is done churning.
   

9. • Strain the mixture the next day and churn in an ice cream maker.
   

10. • Fold the Chocolate Flakes into the churned ice cream and freeze until firm.
    

If you do not break the temper of the chocolate, and instead opt to use a grated chocolate bar or broken pieces of chocolate (or chips), you will still have a great ice cream; however, the chocolate will not melt in your mouth and chewing it will tend to make it feel a bit waxy.  You certainly will not get the maximum chocolate impact before swallowing the still solid particles of chocolate that do not melt in your mouth.  Believe me when I tell you that it is worth taking the step to break the temper.

This ice cream essentially tasted like Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, only with a basil flavor.  It is great in the same bowl with the Orange Basil Sorbet, which makes the whole mess taste like a Creamsicle in a bowl - with basil and chocolate.

Yum!!!

I shall soon say goodbye to my plant.   It has been a wonderful and dear friend these last few months.  Next summer there will be a new plant, and perhaps some new ideas.  You never know what will pop into my head.

Enjoy in good health!

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