Basil Pesto

A couple of weeks ago I shared my "Friday Night Date with Basil".  Well, I don't always sell all that basil at the Farmers' Market, so I have to find ways to use it here at home.  Otherwise, I have to throw it out.  What a waste!

One of the easiest ways to use a lot of it is to make pesto.  Here's the basic ingredients.

You start with 2 cups of basil leaves, 2 cloves of garlic (chopped), 2/3 cup of olive oil (divided) and 1/4 cup of pine nuts.  Put it all in your food processor.

I usually put the basil, garlic and pine nuts in first and give them a pulses to get them coarsely chopped.  Then, I slowly add 1/2 cup of olive oil.  Blend until it is smooth and add salt and pepper to taste.

If serving immediately, stir in 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese and the rest of the olive oil. 

If you are not going to serve it immediatly, then put it in an air-tight container and pour the rest of the olive oil over it.  This will keep it from turning brown.  Then, stir the parmesan cheese in at serving time as above.