Summery Pesto

If Butternut Squash Ravioli is the default winter vegetarian restaurant entree, then Pesto and Pasta is the summer one. Unfortunately, there's a lot of bad pesto out there--too salty, too oily, too uninspired, which is sad considering how lovely a simple basil pesto can be. Tonight I spied a good looking bunch of organic basil at Greenstar, picked up some pine nuts, and whipped up a batch. I try to find pine nuts in bulk food aisles--Greenstar has organic ones--and get only as much as I'll need, since they're pricey.

Recipe after the jump.
Summery Pesto
*Pesto freezes beautifully, so I try to make extra. This recipe yields 4-5 servings*

4 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed and blotted dry
4 tbl. pine nuts
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 fresh tomato, chopped (optional)

Combine basil, pine nuts, garlic, a dash of salt, and about half the olive oil in a food processor and pulse to combine.  Slowly add the remainder of the olive oil with the machine running until it reaches the desired consistency.  If the paste seems a little too thick, it can be thinned out with more oil or reserved pasta water (the water will make it more of a sauce). Salt to taste, remembering that parmesan will add a fair bit of salt to the pesto.

Separate out any pesto you want to freeze or save and stir the parmesan cheese into the remaining mixture by hand before serving.  Toss with angel hair pasta and chopped fresh tomatoes (optional). Light and easy.