Try the purple leaved variety of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum).

On 11 Jul 2004 12:45:03 -0700, (r) wrote:

hi,
photo is located he
http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=46784

does anybody know what this is? i brought some from a greenmarket
vendor, but forgot to jot down the name of it. I thought it would be
a bitter salad green that you can use raw, but having tasting the raw
leaves, i found it definately bitter, with a slight burning sensation
at the back of my throat. cooking it down, it tastes exactly like
spinach. however, some ppl have said it looks like red shiso, or opal
basil, but both seem unlikely.

is this spinach? if so, what variety is it?

if not spinach, what can it be?

thanks,
r