Italian Grandmother Pesto

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
• 3 medium cloves of garlic
• one small handful of raw pine nuts
• roughly 3/4 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and freshly grated
• A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Special equipment: a mezzaluna for chopping

Directions

1. Begin by chopping the garlic and about 1/3 of the basil leaves.
2. Once this is loosely chopped, add more basil, and continue chopping. Once you've chopped this, add the rest of the basil, and chop some more. 
3. At this point the basil & garlic should be a fine mince. Add half the pine nuts, chop. 
4. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. 
5. Add half the parmesan, chop. 
6. Add the rest of the parmesan... chop!
7. Once this is all done, the pesto should be so fine you can press it into a cake form. When you can, transfer it into a bowl and cover with a few tablespoons of olive oil. 
8. Set aside, or refrigerate to store. When about to serve, stir the pesto to mix in the olive oil.