Pesto Sauce

Recently I posted a recipe for my "Pesto Pasta Arugula Salad." I have done my time with the pesto "sauce" from the packet, but now have evolved to made-from-scratch pesto sauce. It's pretty darn easy and a bit of fun.

This is the basic recipe from my "Joy of Cooking" cook book and I have added my tweaks.

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 c of loosely packed basil leaves (be sure to remove the stems and branches)
1/3 c of pine nuts (I use walnuts, tastes just as good and cheaper than pinenuts)
2 medium cloves of peeled garlic (It'd be best to skip the stuff from a jar...)
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese (Romano cheese will suffice)
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

WHAT YOU DO:

1. In a food processor (the small one that is used with a hand blender works well) add the basil leaves and chop them up
2. Add the cloves of garlic and run the FP
3. Add pinenuts/walnuts and run the FP
4. Add the cheese and run the FP
5. Add the EVOO and that's right, run the FP
6. Salt and Pepper to taste

I also tend to stir in 1-2 T of water since I like my pesto sauce to be a little thinner especially after it has sat in the refrigerator 1-2 days. I love making this in the summer because my basil grows well in the garden here in TX so I can just go out and pick the basil fresh. So that's the mystery of homemade pesto sauce. I told you, anymonkeycan make great pesto sauce!!