I think 'Cardinal' is one I saw at Hazzard seeds this year... lemme check... nope, they have 'Christmas' LOL

I'll keep an eye out when I'm browsing online.

Forgot to hit "watch" so sorry to return late. I got the seeds for Cardinal from Burpee's. They still have seeds, but plants are sold out.
http://www.burpee.com/herbs/ba...

Pesto Perpetuo has been available off and on from Home Depot, here. (who knew??)

Small Leaves, big taste.

And Pistou is my favorite, I love Pistou and don't think I'll ever not grow it.

Do you get reliably compact/rounded plants (not leggy) from Pistou seed? Asking because I can never get 'Spicy Globe' to grow like that from seed, only when I buy a plant from DeBaggio's. (And it's not just growing conditions; rooted cuttings from a DeBaggio's plant are also nice & compact... I just can't quite keep them going inside over winter, it seems!

Well I currently grow several types of basil including sweet basil, Genovese Basil, Pesto Perpetuo,
and Siam Queen and Purple Ruffle. I do love when I can find it Sweet Dani and Aussie Sweetie.

I had never heard of Pistou Basil or many of the other varieties of basil. I am curious where I
might find the various varieties especially Pistou basil. I currently have all of my basil and all
other plants in containers.

I only start my basil from seed. It is easy to germinate.

I agree--I only grow Pistou from seed; I've never seen plants anywhere in my area for this variety. Basil is very easy to grow from seed and many varieties are available as seeds.

Absolutely. I love the variety of Basil seed. You just won't find that selection available as plants. My favorite in recent years has been New Guinea basil.

This was a pretty old thread and it surprised me to see it surface.

Well I guess I really don't need to worry if all I am trying to do is make Pistou sauce because I should be able to do that with regular sweet basil
or with the Genovese Basil or even my Pesto Perpetuo basil

Willinator--if you're making pesto, Genovese or Sweet basil are usually considered the classic basils for pesto. Nothing better than fresh basil pesto. I sometimes put a little parsley in my pesto too, just for a little variety.

Well that is one reason I was considering Pistou Sauce because it is Provencal and is just like
Pesto without using pinenuts.

If you don't want to use pine nuts, walnuts are an excellent substitute, as are sunflower seeds or pepitas.

Why use any nuts at all when the Pistou sauce does not require any nuts.

Yes, I've made pesto when I just didn't have any pine nuts and it was good. We didn't miss the nuts, but I'm pretty heavy handed with the garlic.

Karen

Willinator said:Why use any nuts at all when the Pistou sauce does not require any nuts.

Uh oh, this may be leaning toward one of those senseless recipe ratings and reviews? You know the ones that go something like this: "I am rating this recipe one star, it was awful. The recipe calls for bone-in skin-on chicken thighs but I used boneless skinless chicken breasts. Instead of sauteeing in butter as instructed I used avocado oil. Then the recipe says to deglaze the pan with red wine and reduce it by half before adding 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves. I don't like red wine so I used grapefruit juice, and instead of thyme I used dehydrated parsley and a little bit of onion powder, and I was in a hurry so could not take the time to reduce it. Then the recipe said to add enough chicken broth to almost cover the thighs, cover and place in a moderate oven for one hour. I didn't use chicken broth because it wouldn't be thick enough for what I like so I added a packet of gravy mix and a cup of water and put it in my crock pot overnight. This chicken was dry and horrible. No one should make this recipe. I don't know why it gets five star reviews."

That is my long winded way of saying you are right - don't add nuts to your pistou! Pistou is pistou, pesto is pesto, persillade is persillade.

Purists unite!

@JBarstool - your comment reminds me of a very old poem:

She didn't have potatoes
so she used a cup of rice.
She couldn't find paprika
so she used some other spice.
Tomatoes weren't in season
so she used tomato paste.
The whole can not a cup, dear --
She couldn't bear to waste.
And now she isn't speaking;
She's convinced I pulled a fast one.
So don't ask for my recipe,
That one was the last one.

That's cute, Arlene.

Karen

Had a friend once who always substituted and then claimed the recipe didn't turn out right. It was very tiresome.

JBarstool said:
Uh oh, this may be leaning toward one of those senseless recipe ratings and reviews? You know the ones that go something like this: "I am rating this recipe one star, it was awful. The recipe calls for bone-in skin-on chicken thighs but I used boneless skinless chicken breasts. Instead of sauteeing in butter as instructed I used avocado oil. Then the recipe says to deglaze the pan with red wine and reduce it by half before adding 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves. I don't like red wine so I used grapefruit juice, and instead of thyme I used dehydrated parsley and a little bit of onion powder, and I was in a hurry so could not take the time to reduce it. Then the recipe said to add enough chicken broth to almost cover the thighs, cover and place in a moderate oven for one hour. I didn't use chicken broth because it wouldn't be thick enough for what I like so I added a packet of gravy mix and a cup of water and put it in my crock pot overnight. This chicken was dry and horrible. No one should make this recipe. I don't know why it gets five star reviews."

That is my long winded way of saying you are right - don't add nuts to your pistou! Pistou is pistou, pesto is pesto, persillade is persillade.

Purists unite!

Sometimes I read recipe reviews for that very reason -- for the unintended humor!
Sort of like, "the plant label said full sun, but I wanted it in my bedroom. I didn't have fertilizer, so I used coffee grounds.... What's the matter with my plant?"