Perfect Pesto

I have a basil plant that has recently gotten a little out of control, and so there was only one thing for me to do...make pesto!  Pesto is an Italian sauce that traditionally uses basil, garlic and parmesan cheese although now there are hundreds of varieties of pesto.  This is because pesto comes from the Italian word meaning to grind--> think mortar and pestle. So, now there are sun-dried tomato, black olive, eggplant, pistachio and mushroom pestos (just to name a few).  What we are talking about here is the original, Genovese, basil pesto. This recipe is simple, fast and delicious.  What's even better is that you can freeze it for use at a later date. I like to freeze it in ice cube trays and pop it out as needed.   Pesto is also very versatile: think veggie tarts, pizzas, sautéed vegetables, sun-dried tomato mozzarella and pesto sandwiches....etc.


Yields about  1 1/2 cups of pesto
Ingredients:
6 cloves of garlic peeled and with the germ removed
2 cups packed basil leaves washed and dried
2 cups toasted almonds or pine nuts (pine nuts are more traditional but I had some chopped almonds lying around so that's what I used)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Instructions:
1) Put all of the ingredients (minus half of the olive oil) into a food processor or blender and blend together.
2) As a paste begins to form, continue blending and drizzle in the remaining oil through the opening in the top of your food processor or blender.  Blend until a smooth pesto is formed (roughly one minute).
3) Use right away by stirring some into hot, cooked pasta and top with a little more grated parmesan.  I would suggest roughly two tablespoons of pesto per portion of pasta.

Whatever you don't use right away you can store in the refrigerator to use within two weeks or freeze for more long-term storage.  I froze my pesto in 1 oz. silicone ice cube trays so I can pop out enough for one portion of pasta whenever I need it.  It makes a really easy dinner when there's nothing else in the house.  Just sauté some veggies, cook some pasta and toss it all together with a cube of pesto.  Enjoy!