• Add chopped purple basil leaves to salads with yellow tomatoes for a rich color contrast and sympathetic flavors.

• Drop some chopped purple basil leaves into the cooking water for cauliflower to tint it a slightly pink color and add good basil flavor.

• Steep purple basil leaves in white wine vinegar to extract both color and flavor - put leaves in a bottle, fill with the vinegar, seal and hold in a dark place for a few weeks.

• Add a few finely chopped purple basil leaves to mayonnaise or sour cream to serve with other foods. Hold overnight to get the richest color.

• Substitute purple basil for the green basil in pesto and use it as a pasta dressing or spread on grilled bread slices

• Garnish richly-flavored chilled soups like gazpacho or avocado soup with purple basil

• Add chopped purple basil leaves to marinades for poultry or pork to flavor and color the meats