Basil is a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine and also plays a major role in the Southeast Asian cuisines of Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. The plant tastes somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, sweet smell. There are many varieties of basil. That which is used in Italian food is typically called sweet basil, as opposed to Thai basil, lemon basil and holy basil, which are used in Asia. While most common varieties of basil are treated as annuals, some are perennial in warm, tropical climates, including African Blue and Holy Thai basil.


Photo: marlerblog.com

Are you worrying about this dinner? I think you may feel bored with the same chicken menu like fried chicken. Can I recommend you one interesting dish called Baked Chicken Breast with Sweet Basil? I’m sure that you will be pleased because the processes of this nutritious dish are not delicate.

Kitchenware
- Knife
- Baking dish
- Mixing bowl

Ingredients
- 10 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2 1/2 lbs.)
- 1/2 chopped fresh basil
- 3/4 cup low fat yogurt
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch


Photo: Camemberu

Preparation

1. Prepare chicken in single layer in baking dish.
2. Add yogurt, basil and cornstarch in a mixing bowl. Blend them well and spread over chicken.
3. Mix bread crumbs with Parmesan and sprinkle over chicken.
   (If making before, cover and freeze about 6 hours.)
4. Bake chicken in the oven with 375-degrees heat for 30 minutes or until chicken is ripe.

The strong clove scent of sweet basil is derived from eugenol, the same chemical as actual cloves. The citrus scent of lemon basil and lime basil is because they have a higher portion of citral which causes this effect in several plants, including lemon mint, and limonene, which gives actual lemon peel its scent. African blue basil has a strong camphor smell because it has camphor and camphene in higher proportions.

Licorice Basil contains anethole, the same chemical that makes anise smell like licorice, and in fact is sometimes called Anise Basil. Basil and oregano contain large amounts of (E)-beta-caryophyllene (BCP), which might have a use in treating inflammatory bowel diseases and arthritis. BCP is the only product identified in nature that activates CB2 selectively; it interacts with one of two cannabinoid receptors (CB2), blocking chemical signals that lead to inflammation, without triggering cannabis's mood-altering effects.