Ingredients
- 1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
- 3 medium cloves of garlic
- One small handful of raw pine nuts
- Roughly 3/4 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and freshly grated
- A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
Chop Ingredients
- Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves.
- Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil, chop some more. I scrape and chop, gather and chop.
- At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince. Add about half the pine nuts, chop.
- Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and chop.
- In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil "cake".
- Transfer the pesto "cake" to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake).
Form a Paste
- Cover the pesto "cake" with a bit of olive oil. It doesn't take much, just a few tablespoons.
- At this point, you can set the pesto aside, or place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
- Just before serving, give the pesto a quick stir to incorporate some of the oil into the basil.