Darina Allen's Pesto

Homemade Pesto takes minutes to make and tastes a million times better than most of what you buy.  The problem is getting enough basil.  If you have difficulty, use parsley, a mixture of parsley and mint or parsley and coriander - different but still delicious.
 

Serve with pasta, goat cheese, tomato and mozzerella.
 
110g (4ozs) fresh basil leaves
175-225ml (6 – 8fl ozs) Extra virgin olive oil
25g (1oz) fresh pine kernels (taste when you buy to make sure they are not rancid)
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
50g (2ozs) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiana Reggiano is best)
salt to taste
 
Whizz the basil with the olive oil, pine kernels and garlic in a food processor or pound in a pestle and mortar.  Remove to a bowl and fold in the finely grated Parmesan cheese. Taste and season. 
 
Pesto keeps for weeks, covered with a layer of olive oil in a jar in the fridge. It also freezes well but for best results don't add the grated Parmesan until it has defrosted. Freeze in small jars for convenience. 


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