为什么要吃罗勒?

"The most useful thing one can know about basil," writes Marcella Hazan in her seminal cookbook Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, "is that the less it cooks, the better it is, and that its fragrance is never more seductive than when it is raw."

"关于罗勒的最有用的知识点就是，"玛塞拉·哈杉（Marcella Hazan）在她的精品烹饪书Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking中写道，"烹饪越少越好，罗勒的香味在生吃的时候最为诱人。"

In the summer, the floral bouquet of basil is ubiquitous: in the garden; at the farmers' market; even at the supermarket. It's as pretty as a bunch of flowers this time of year, too, with a voluptuous heft and verdant leaves you just don't see in winter.

夏季，罗勒花无数不在：花园里、农产品市场上、甚至超市里。每年这个时候，罗勒就像一束鲜花般美丽，其叶子之茂盛、之葱郁，是你在冬日里所见不到的。

It's also quite good for you. As Kara Lydon, RD, intuitive eating counselor and blogger, emailed Health, "Basil can help boost the antioxidants in your meals. … [It] contains one of the highest levels of the antioxidants beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. These antioxidants, also known as carotenoids, help to fight off oxidative stress in your body and may protect against chronic disease."

罗勒也有益人体健康。直觉饮食顾问、博主卡拉·莱登（Kara Lydon）注册营养师在发给《健康》杂志的邮件中写道，"罗勒可以增强饮食中的抗氧化剂。它的β-胡萝卜素、叶黄素和玉米黄素抗氧化剂的含量最高。这些抗氧化剂，也被称为类胡萝卜素，有助于消除体内的氧化应激，或能预防慢性疾病。"

So you've got plenty of reasons to use every leaf on the bunch. Happily, there are plenty of ideas out there for how to do that. Here are a few of our favorites.

所以，这给了你足够的理由去好好使用罗勒的每一片叶子。令人高兴的是，很多方法都可以做到这一点，以下给您推荐了我们的最爱。

Pesto

香蒜酱

Make big bunches of pesto, and freeze any you can't use up before it goes bad in ice cube trays, with a layer of olive oil on top. Swirl pesto into pastas, on to soups, into risotto, and on top of baked salmon.

做一大盆香蒜酱，然后在制冰盒中放入你暂时用不到的香蒜酱冷冻，最上层涂一层橄榄油，以防止变质。意大利面、汤、烩饭或是烤三文鱼都可以蘸点香蒜酱。

Compound butter

复合黄油

The dreamiest of things to plunk on a steak, pork tenderloin, or grilled chicken, compound butter is as easy as combining room-temperature butter, chopped dry basil leaves, salt and pepper. Roll the mixture up in a layer of aluminum foil, as you would with extra cookie dough. Refrigerate until cold, and slice off rounds of green-flecked butter over the coming weeks.

作为煎牛排、猪里脊肉或烤鸡肉时的最理想材料，复合黄油的做法非常简单，就是把室温下的黄油、切碎的干罗勒叶、盐和胡椒混合在一起。把混合物倒入另一层铝箔纸内卷起，就像使用多余的饼干面团一样。放入冰箱冷冻，接下来的几周你就可以切下带有绿色斑点的黄油啦。

Salads

沙拉

If you've never folded fresh herbs into your salads, let today be the day. Fresh leaves of basil are a delight in salads, even beyond the classic Caprese. Mustard, lemon, vinegar, and shallot-based dressings all take kindly to a handful of basil leaves folded in with the other greens.

如果你从未在沙拉中放过新鲜草药，那就从今天开始尝试吧。新鲜的罗勒叶很适合放在沙拉中，甚至比经典的Caprese沙拉更好吃。芥末、柠檬、醋和葱调味酱都可以和罗勒叶以及其它蔬菜搭配。