Pesto alla genovese

Our basil plants grew to ridiculous proportions and so my Dad and I decided to turn it into lots of pesto.  I used the recipe from our family friend, Florencia, whose mother is from the region of Italy where basil pesto originated.  Pretty authentic stuff.  You will never want to buy bottled pesto ever again.

This recipe is in grams because going by weight yields more consistent results.

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:
200 grams Basil leaves, washed, and dried off COMPLETELY (If wet, the pesto will turn brown)
50 grams grated pecorino cheese
50 grams grated parmigiano reggiano
40 grams toasted pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
a tiny pinch of ground ginger
olive oil

Instructions:
1) In a food processor, grind the basil leaves (be careful not to grind completely into a paste).  You may have to do this in batches, and then add all of the ground up basil back into the processor to add the other ingredients.
2) Put all of the ground basil into the food processor and add all of the other ingredients except the olive oil and grind together.
3) While the machine is still on, drizzle in olive oil until it is the correct consistency (roughly 1/4-1/2 cup).  It shouldn't be watery, but shouldn't be solid either.  You can always add more olive oil later when you add the pesto to some pasta.  It's better to not have enough oil than too much.  Taste the pesto and make sure it's seasoned to your liking.
4) You can store by placing into tupperware and freezing.  I filled a silicon ice cube tray with the pesto.  That way I can pop a cube out for each serving.  Enjoy!

*When you cook pasta with the pesto, remember to save a little bit of the pasta water and toss it with the pasta and pesto sauce to coat.  Top the dish with more grated parmigiano.  Usually I wouldn't salt the pasta water with this dish because of the saltiness of the cheese.
** Think outside the box: Pesto is great on homemade pizzas, bruschetta, etc.  Think of yummy new ways to use it.