Basil Pesto Pasta

My first experience with making pesto was some sort of a disaster and hungry disappointment.  I didn't have enough basil, was using a blender and ran out of olive oil, and this sadly kept me from making it again.  My second time was a great success, and I'm happy to say, yes, I can make pesto!

Very simple recipe, took only a few minutes and the majority of cooking time was waiting for the pasta water to boil and pasta to cook!  We had this with steaks and it was a delicious combination. Although, not a perfect as steak and corn on the cobb... 

Pesto Pasta

Serves a Gazillon. I have a pint of pest left in the freezer

8 cloves of garlic, peeled

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 cup olive oil

4 cups fresh basil

1/2 cup parmesan (cut into cubes)

S&P

1. Have a large pot of boiling water, add a handful of salt and olive oil.  Add in the bowtie pasta and cook until done.

2. Put the basil leaves, garlic, and pine nuts into a food processor.  Let it run until it's a chunky pebbly mixture.  Add in the parmesan cheese.  When combined and with the processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until it becomes a smooth mixture.  Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste.  Done!  Can you believe?  (Seriously, the longest part of this process is peeling the darn garlic and washing the basil!)

3. Pour the pesto sauce over the pasta and mix.  Add in freshly grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!  Oh, even better, have it with a nice ribeye steak =).