The king of herbs, basil is the most popular of the Mediterranean herbs with its lush green leaves and pungent flavour reminiscent of Italian cooking. Pick tender leaves from the plant to adorn your caprese salad, or chop and mix with olive oil for a fantastic pesto sauce for your pasta, magnifico! Serving Suggestion Caprese Salad - Place alternate slices of mozzarella and beef tomato on a plate, sprinkle basil leaves over and drizzle with olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper. Pesto - Combine pine nuts, basil, grated parmesan, garlic and olive oil in a food processor and blend. Stir into your favourite pasta. The best way to look after basil is to let the plant tell you it needs watering, as it will start to wilt. The plants will quickly spring back up and the stress will actually increase the oil content they are producing, improving the flavour. It is also important not to water the plants too soon before harvesting the leaves, as this will dilute the flavour. Basil is highly susceptible to chill (below 10°C) or cold draughts - the leaves will start to blacken.