Pasta with Fresh Pesto

Total time: 30 minutes
    Pasta with pesto is a classic dish from Genoa.  If you're lucky enough to have the basil, make it yourself.  If not, buy a good commercial brand.

 Ingredients:

• 3oz (90gr) linguini, fettuccini or spaghetti
• 3 tbs pesto sauce
• 1 tbs good olive oil

 Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.
• Combine pesto and oil in the bottom of pasta bowl.
• Add pasta and toss to coat. Serve.

Pesto Sauce

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups basil, leaves only, lightly packed - meaning somewhere between crushing it into the measuring cup and dropping it in lightly
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, to measure cut in small cubes
• 1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3/4 - 1 cup good olive oil - enough to get the consistency you want for the sauce
• 2 cloves garlic

 Instructions:

• Put everything but the oil in a blender. 
• Add 1/2 cup oil and blend.  Add more oil as needed.  It really depends on how tightly you packed the basil.  I used 1 cup of oil.