Basil—for the literarily inclined, you may recognize it as the name of the eternal idealist in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. For you movie buffs and international men of mystery, you may identify it with Austin Powers’ right-hand-man. At Your Pie, we like to think of it as a real-life combination of these two fictional personas – our very own eternally ideal, right-hand-man. Allow us to introduce, Basil.
Native to India, basil has successfully made a name for itself at tables around the world as the “king of herbs” and an international icon of royalty and power. At Your Pie, we like to think our home-grown basil is pretty pie-conic, as well.
Similar in appearance to another holiday herb, peppermint, basil possesses a subtle peppery flavor, which turns sweet with a few chews and is complimented by a strong, yet delicate anise-like aroma, quintessential of the holiday season and soothing to the sniffles and sneezes that come along with this time of year.
Although tasty in any form, fresh basil is thought by most to be superior in flavor to other dried variations. Luckily for you, here at Your Pie we serve up only the freshest Basil—just like our Italian ancestors have been doing for years. Basil can be used not only to garnish the top of your pie, but also used to create a zesty foundation as a key ingredient in our basil pesto, which is a tasty blend of basil, parmesan and pine nuts.
Looking to experiment with pesto at home? Try adding it to healthy stir-fries. Combining it with ingredients such as eggplant, cabbage, chili peppers and cashews will give it a Thai flair (this is probably where we should insert a discrete self-promoting suggestion… can you say, the Thai Pie?).
If you’re in the mood for a culinary trip to Italy, try our Caprese Salad that features basil leaves over tomato slices and mozzarella cheese or our Ischia Pie featuring roasted garlic olive oil with fresh mozzarella, Roma tomatoes, basil, and garlic. Let basil adds a zest of Italian tradition to own craft pie, as Statesboro’s Hannah Williams did with her What’s Your Pie submission, the Split Open and Melt.
Split Open and Melt Created by Hannah Williams Your Pie Statesboro featuring Ranchy Marinara Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella Circles, Basil, Cilantro, Oregano, Spinach, Vidalia Onions White, Sundried Tomato, Tofu.
In the words that another famous Basil used to describe a certain cryogenically frozen, crooked-toothed 1960’s secret agent, we think you’ll find that our basil is also “irresistible to women, deadly to his enemies and a legend in his own time.”
