h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We've got a rampant basil plant. It's being added to fish, anything vaguely tomatoey, frozen, dried, torn up with cottage cheese, added to Marmite butties, can anyone think of any more uses?

Just uproot and set fire to the bugger.

Problem solved.

One word. Pesto. Making fresh pesto uses vast amounts of basil. Ingredients: olive oil, basil, parmesan (I think you're supposed to use a cheese called Sardo, it's a Sardinian ewe's milk cheese, but it can be a bit difficult to find), pine nuts/kernels. I think you want to be using about twice as much basil as parmesan, and about half as much of pine kernels (aka pine nuts). Get a pestle and mortar (or a food processor) and pound the pine kernels, then the basil and finally the cheese. Slowly add olive oil (quite a lot), stirring all the time, until it loosens up a bit. That recipe is just from memory, so you might want to see if you can find a proper recipe somewhere to get the quantities right. Anyway, it's worth the effort (especially if you're using a food processor since it only takes a couple of minutes then) since fresh pesto is MUCH nicer than the stuff you get in jars.

Another good use of basil is on an Insalata Caprese, take some good tomatoes (cherry toms are best I think) and halve them, tear (yup, much better to tear) up some buffalo mozarella (or cow's milk mozarella to save money). Arrange the toms and mozarella beautifully on a plate, sprinkle with salt and pepper, pour over olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then tear up some basil and throw it all over the toms and mozarella. Delicious.

It's a good time for Basil atm, as it's under the influence of Mars. But I think you've noticed that.
You can take an infusion of basil for most gastric and intestinal problems, including stomach cramps, vomiting, flatulance, constipation and lack of appetite. It can be taken with honey for a cough, you can dry and powder the leaves to take as a snuff to clear the nose and relieve headaches.
You can use it dried in pot-pourris, and as herbal bath bags.
Use fresh leaves for salads, poultry and pork.
Hope that helps.

Thanks for all the ideas folks, I'd quite forgotten pesto and it's uses for stomach complaints. I've never heard of the snuff though. I'll try it to see if it does anything for my sinuses. Hay fever strikes again.

And of course, you can just leave it out there, and admire it.

You don't eat ALL your garden plants do you?

***B

(PS - I am just jealous that you manage to grow enough of the stuff for it to be a problem!)