You will need… blender or pestle & mortar

Ingredients

• 3 bunches of basil leaves;
• 1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 150g of pine nuts;
• 6 tbs of Parmesan cheese;
• 400ml of extra virgin olive oil;
• sea salt and black pepper to season

Remove all basil and parsley leaves from the stems and wash gently. Lightly roast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan and place to one side. Peel the garlic cloves and blanche for 1-2 minutes to ease digestion. Place the basil, parsley, garlic and extra virgin olive oil in the mortar and start to crush gently with the pestle, adding the pine nuts as you go. Continue until the mixture is smooth and add salt and black pepper to taste. Place the pesto into a bowl and add the Parmesan cheese, mixing it as you go.

NB: If you choose to use a blender rather than a pestle & mortar, ensure that all of the ingredients apart from the Parmesan cheese are mixed gently on ‘pulse mode’ in the blender, as on a higher level the basil will burn and turn black.