GIARDINO: il basilico bolloso napoletano
We had an excellent basilico season but, alas, it is coming to its natural end. In Italy however, the basilico season is about to take off and the excitement is palpable, thus the flood of videos on Instagram regarding our most favourite herb. Watching these by the thousands, we discovered a variety of basilico which we had either never seen or, perhaps, had never bothered to notice: il basilico bolloso napoletano. Here it is in all its “bullous” glory in the foto below, on the right, next to the more common basilico genovese:

As to the difference in taste and smell? Alas, it’s not very clear: some suggest it has a mint or aniseed note and a milder fragrance compared to the genovese, some the opposite so all we can do is grow our own and, luckily, there is a seed company here in Australia, The Italian Gardener, which actually sells the seeds and, come next Spring, we'll be able to see, touch, smell and taste it for ourselves!

In the video below, Emanuele from simegarden_ shows us come rinvasare (how to repot) our basilco bolloso napoletano. Given we don't have any basilico bolloso napoletano to repot, it's lovely to simply marvel at the plant as it's being shaken, not stirred:

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Our basilico is quite exposed and neighbours help themselves to it, which is wonderful except that many, surprisingly, don’t know how to pick it! Ecco come si fa  (here is how you do it):

(Maggio, 2025)