Pesto Sauce

by James Wilderotter

quantity	ingredient
1/2 teaspoon	sea salt (coarse)
2 1/2 cups	fresh basil leaves (finely chopped)
2 cloves	garlic (finely crushed and chopped)
2/3 cup	olive oil (prefer extra virgin)
1/3 cup	pine nuts (finely crushed and chopped)
3/4 cup	parmesan cheese (fresh grated)
to taste	black pepper (fresh ground)

Chop the basil leaves into fine bits. You can use a food processor or small electric coffee grinder to achieve this.
Add to the chopped basil leaves the sea salt and garlic. Mix well..
Continue to mix while adding the olive oil.
Slowly add in the pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and black pepper.
Mix well again before serving.

Notes:
Let the pesto sauce sit in the refridgerator for at least 30 minutes before serving if you want it to thicken a bit.

I like to set this out for about 10 minutes on the cabinet instead of putting it in the refridgerator so the flavors meld together and it is still fresh when I bring it to the table.

Serve over hot or cold pasta.