Gratitude for Summer’s Abundance of Basil
by Torrey Douglass
One of summer’s many blessings is its bounty of basil. Leafy, fragrant, and green as the Italian flag’s emerald stripe, it adds a zesty herbal flourish to everything from starters, salads, meat, fish, and even desserts. My success at growing basil would be generously described as mixed, so I turned to two time-tested experts for their sage (ha!) advice.
Mike and Vickie Brock have been farming their property north of Boonville for over twenty years, and their basil never disappoints. Vickie credits their use of remay, also known as floating row cover—a thin white cloth that protects the plants from frost damage in the cold and sun damage in the heat, and aids moisture retention in the soil.
A relative of mint, basil provides health benefits through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. In the kitchen, it plays well with other flavors like garlic, mustard, rosemary, and paprika. Mike and Vickie like to use it in their Lemon Basil Chicken for a summer dinner on the grill. Don’t let this season go by without taking full advantage of its abundance of fresh basil.
Lemon Basil Chicken
A note from Mike: This is what we do with home-grown chicken, which is a bit tougher since they run around a bit more than store-bought. It works best with chicken breast, or if you have legs and thighs, we marinate in lemon juice longer.
Juice of 2-3 lemons + some zest
2 large chicken breasts
1 garlic clove
1/3 c olive oil
1 bunch basil, stems removed, leaves chopped
Mix the lemon juice and zest in a bowl, then add the chicken breasts and let it marinate in the fridge for a half hour. Add the olive oil, crushed garlic, and chopped basil leaves, mix well, and marinate for another half hour. Remove the breasts and generously season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with additional olive oil and grill until cooked through. Great with a cold pasta salad or rice pilaf and a fresh summer salad.
Brock Farm
11960 Goodacre Lane (off lower Peachland Road), Boonville
Farmstand open seasonally
