Sweet basil, called the “royal herb” by the Greeks, is used a lot in Mediterranean and Italian cuisine. It has a bold sweetish-savory flavor with faint after-notes of licorice. Cooking notes Use in pesto, tomato sauce, cold meat sandwiches, and salad dressings. Enhances the flavor of eggs, fish, shellfish (especially crab, shrimp, and lobster), mutton, pork, beef, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, sweet peppers, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. For a Mediterranean flair in your food, pair with onion, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, and olives. For an Italian flair, combine with oregano, tarragon, sage, garlic, summer savory, rosemary, and thyme. For a pleasantly intense flavor, add the basil at the end of the cooking process with a dash or two of salt. A little bit goes a long way with this one! Be sure to check your recipe before adding a lot of it. Or, if you prefer to maverick your cooking, add a little bit at a time—tasting occasionally—until you find the flavor you like. If your recipe calls for fresh basil, substitute 1/3 the amount of basil leaf.