Pesto

I got this recipe from a book Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking. He says to blanch the basil and add a pinch of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to preserve the bright green color. I have to say that it works great. It was nice to have the pesto stay bright green the next day instead of turning swamp color.

Blender works much better than food processor here since this amount of pesto will just smear all over the food processor bowl sides.

If you are going to add this to some pasta, dilute the pesto with a little bit of pasta water. Pesto does not need to be used with pasta. You can spread it on bread with cheese and make yummy grilled sandwiches or drizzle over grilled veggies.

Pesto
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
Pinch of ascorbic acid
Salt, to taste

Bring water to a boil in saucepan and add the basil for 15 seconds. Drain and plunge into ice water. Combine the blanched basil with the rest of the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Adjust for salt and store in the fridge.

Makes 3/4 cup (enough for 1 pound of pasta)