Need more basil in your life?
How to grow endless supplies of this essential herb
You told me you liked this one, so here’s another life-hack:
This is such an easy idea which didn’t make the final edit of Rhubarb Rhubarb. But it’s money-saving and satisfying, and you can do it RIGHT NOW:
Before I get to this hack, here’s the background:
You’ll probably be familiar with the recipe which DID appear in the book: it’s super-simple. I served this salad up this weekend as a simple lunch, and I cannot tell you how welcomed it was. Sometimes people just don’t want a heavy meal: this one is substantial and simple at the same time. (For non-cooks, of which I’m one, the gardening bit is coming in a minute):
I know this dish is so easy, and everyone knows it, but there a few factors - eg the right mozzarella, tearing your basil and not using pepper - which make all the difference. I learned ‘the’ method in Italy, where my great-uncle had a buffalo farm - yes, he really did. Every evening, he used to call each water buffalo back from the fields to the stable, by name. I can still hear his gentle tones now, gently coaxing each one back.
First, the recipe: from Rhubarb Rhubarb written by me and Mary Jane Paterson. These are her words, with some editing by me!
You can still buy Rhubarb Rhubarb here.
Tomato, avocado and mozzarella salad:
8 tomatoes
3 avocados
3 packets of buffalo mozzarella (the taste and texture difference is phenomenal - much gentler and creamier than cow’s milk)
Basil leaves - a large handful
Big drizzle of olive oil
Salt - some say pepper but it changes the taste into something not quite right.
Slice your tomatoes into rounds, and slice up the avocado. This is the easiest thing - arrange all the slices on a plate with the similarly-sliced mozzarella and TEAR the basil leaves over the top. Whatever you do, don’t chop the basil - this is an Italian ‘thing’ - you release more flavour that way).
Drizzle with olive oil and season with the salt. No pepper needed!
But that’s NOT the hack:
The whole point of today’s post is how you can have lots of basil leaves to hand without spending a fortune on lots of supermarket pots which always seem to die off, no matter how much or little you water them.
You know what I mean? People tell you to stand the pot in a saucer of water - but the stems just get longer, and the leaves go brown.
if you’ve had this issue, have a go at this method: