Fresh Pesto

When it comes to fresh herbs, one of my favourite is Basil; I love the gorgeous aroma a fresh bunch gives off and the flavour when it's used in a dish. So naturally, I've always enjoyed Pesto, though until about 18 months ago, I'd never attempted to make my own. I found a decent recipe on the net, and it was really simple to make. After a few small adjustments I managed to perfect the recipe, so here we go.

This recipe makes up a fairly large portion, which is the perfect amount to stir through 500g of dried pasta. If you don't need the whole lot in one go, simply pop it in a sealed jar or pot and keep in the fridge. This is also really nice to use in a home made tear and share loaf, stuffing into a chicken breast, or spreading on a fillet of white fish.

Ingredients: 120g Fresh Basil 50g Pine Nuts 1 Large Clove of Garlic 80g Parmesan Shavings Ground Black Pepper Salt 125ml Olive Oil

Method:

1. Pull the leaves off of the basil. This can be a tedious job, and is the most time consuming of the whole process, but you'll have lovely fragrant fingers afterwards. Put all the leaves into a food processor and lightly pulse to chop it up a bit.
2. Add in the pine nuts, garlic and parmesan shavings (use shavings as it gives a better flavour and a better texture than grated), and blend for a minute.
3. Season with a generous pinch of black pepper and a little salt and mix.
4. With the motor running, add in the oil and process until you have a smooth paste. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.