Simple Pesto

This was the recipe my sister used when she came to our house for the holidays. My kids devoured this, but have recently discovered a taste sensation when they coupled this with raw spinach leaves. They just take a stack of spinach leaves, spread a bit of pesto on it, roll it up and much away. Healthy, flavorful, and easy! Note that the recipe provides for a way to use NO pine nuts and substitute butter instead. I thought that to be interesting, but not necessarily something I'd try myself...I'm leaving it in here in case someone's looking for a "different" pesto recipe.

• Ready In: 10 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  garlic cloves, peeled
• 2  cups fresh basil leaves, no stems, cleaned, washed and packed
• 1⁄4 cup pine nuts, carefully toasted or 2  tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold, grated OPTIONAL IN LIEU OF THE PINE NUTS
•  sea salt, to taste
•  fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil, more as needed
• 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese, best quality, grated

Directions

1. Into the bowl of the food processor, add the garlic, basil, pine nuts OR butter, salt, and pepper.
2. Note: As I do not have a food processor, I use a hand-cranked food mill. The result is that the pesto will taste pretty much the same as when you make it in the food processor, but will be much darker. The remaining instructions assume you have a food processor (or strong arms from all the cranking).
3. Pulse or grind until the basil and pine nuts are finely chopped.
4. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the 1/2 cup of olive oil until the pesto has a thick, yet smooth consistency. Depending on the basil, you may need to add up to 1/4 cup more olive oil.
5. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in the parmesan cheese.
6. Serve over pasta, fish, or chicken, use in salad dressings or as a sandwich spread -- the uses are endless.