{"id":165,"date":"2009-08-02T08:00:39","date_gmt":"2009-08-02T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=165"},"modified":"2009-08-02T08:00:39","modified_gmt":"2009-08-02T12:00:39","slug":"il-basilico-%e2%80%93-l%e2%80%99erba-regale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/il-basilico-%e2%80%93-l%e2%80%99erba-regale\/","title":{"rendered":"Il Basilico \u2013 L\u2019Erba Regale"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s difficult to imagine Italian cuisine without il basilico<\/strong> (basil). The name basilico<\/strong> derives from the Greek word basilic\u00f2n<\/strong> which means \u2018royal\u2019, and in fact it was the Greeks themselves who introduced\u00a0this most archetypal of Mediterranean herbs into Europe, importing it from its native habitat\u00a0of India. For the Romans, besides being an important aromatic ingredient in their cuisine,\u00a0il basilico<\/strong> was the emblem of gli innamorati<\/strong> (those in love).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Il basilico<\/strong> is an annual arbusto<\/strong> (bushy plant) which can grow up to about 60 cm high. It is used a lot as an\u00a0aroma<\/strong> (an aromatic ingredient) in la cucina Italiana<\/strong> (Italian cuisine), especially\u00a0in sughi al pomodoro<\/strong> (tomato sauces), insalate fresche<\/strong> (fresh salads) and, of course,\u00a0as the main ingredient\u00a0of Pesto alla Genovese<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to grow il basilico<\/strong> at home you should plant it in a fairly light soil, or terriccio<\/strong> (compost), and keep it well watered. It has a sweet fragrance, especially when it gets a lot of sun, and the scent of the leaves is at its strongest just before the plant begins to flower although older leaves tend to have a more piccante<\/strong> (peppery) flavor.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the hidden\u00a0benefits of il basilico<\/strong> is that it attracts le api<\/strong> (bees) and therefore helps with l\u2019impollinazione <\/strong>(the\u00a0pollination) of other plants growing nearby.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Egyptians, incidentally,\u00a0incorporated il<\/strong> basilico<\/strong>\u00a0into the balsam which they used to mummify their dead, but I\u2019m afraid I don\u2019t know the whole recipe!<\/span><\/p>\n

Coming soon\u2026\u2026\u2026.Ricette Italiane col Basilico<\/strong> (Italian Recipes with Basil).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s difficult to imagine Italian cuisine without il basilico (basil). The name basilico derives from the Greek word basilic\u00f2n which means \u2018royal\u2019, and in fact it was the Greeks themselves who introduced\u00a0this most archetypal of Mediterranean herbs into Europe, importing it from its native habitat\u00a0of India. For the Romans, besides being an important aromatic ingredient…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[635,636],"class_list":["post-165","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-basil","tag-basilico"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t