Quickly scanning a recipe for pesto that directed the cook to blanch the garlic in boiling water before adding it to the food processor, I mistakenly believed that the recipe instructed the cook blanch the basil. "What a good idea!" I thought. I knew that a blast of heat destroys the enzyme that causes basil to turn black when it's cut or chopped, and destroying the enzyme would yield a brighter green pesto. I was a little afraid that I might lose a lot of flavor, but I decided to give it a try anyway. So the next time I made pesto, I tried blanching the basil and to my surprise, the loss of flavor was minimal; in fact, without the vegetal smell of the blackening leaves (think day-old grass clippings), the true aroma of fresh basil was better preserved than ever. Since then, I have been using this technique whenever I make Pesto and I am convinced that it's the best Pesto I have ever eaten. Looking back at the recipe later, I realized that I had only imagined the suggestion to blanch the basil, but I have done it ever since.

(Makes about 1 1/2 cups)

4 ounces (1 cup packed) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

4 ounces (3/4 cup) pine nuts

1 (4-ounce) bunch fresh basil, preferably organic

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1.) In a food processor, or a mortar and pestle, pulverize the pine nuts into fine powder, but don't grind them all the way into paste. Add the Parmesan cheese to the pine nuts and continue to process the mixture until it becomes a crumbly mass.

2.) Put a 2-quart saucepan of water to boil on high heat. Pluck the leaves from the basil and discard the large stems. When the water is rapidly boiling, drop in the basil leaves. Give the leaves a quick stir and as soon as they are wilted, after about 30 seconds, drain the leaves and pile them into the food processor. Process to incorporate the basil into the pine nut mixture.

3.) Add the garlic, salt and pepper and with the motor running, stream in the olive oil.