Tags
I always thought that basil wanted to grow in full, hot sun, and certainly we’ve always had good luck growing it that way. But two unimpeachable sources (gnarled old Italian gardeners) have told us in the last week that full, hot sun is only for growing basil for minestra, the vegetable soup many still eat for supper here. If you want to make pesto with your basil, you must grow it in partial sun; it will be more tender and better suited to pesto (recipe here). Who knew?
An Ex-Expatriate 
For those of us in the desert southwest of the USA, summer is actually too hot to grow basil successfully in full sun. Mine must be shaded during the real heat. However, the tough woody summer stalks make great skewers for grilling meat & vegetables. Pesto – not so much. Please thank the gnarled old Italian gardeners for removing all responsibility for the bitter basil from my shoulders.
Great idea about using the stalks for grilling skewers. We think of rosemary for that, but have never thought of basil. You are hereby absolved of any responsibility for bitter basil.
For sure, the basil I’m growing in full sun is tougher than the plants that
are nestled in under the tomato vines. Their leaves are still tender and abundant … so methinks your advisers are correct for both sides of the Big Pond. Oh Yum! Herbs, Parmesan, garlic, oil – and you know how much I love it made with tarragon – even though it’s not pesto (as the Captain so firmly attests), it’s spectacular!
I love your Tarragon…. paste? salsa? tarragonaise? as well; it is really delicious. But pesto it’s not.
The variety is important as well. There’s are varieties widely sold in the US that have a licorice taste that is a poor choice for pesto.
Amen to that. Aren’t there also some other flavors too? Do I recall a sort of minty basil?
The pesto we bought in Portovenere is some of the best I have eaten. I need to go back for more.
Did you have it in the classic style, i.e. with boiled potatoes and beans? Oh YUM!
I love basil and pesto. I thought it needed to grow in full sun as well.
I suppose it’s a delicate balance – too much sun and it becomes tough and suitable only for minestra; too little sun and it becomes leggy and almost useless. I guess. Then there’s the unwritten law around here that the only basil worthy of pesto-making must come from Pra…