Basil Pesto.- Much better made at home!

We love Pesto! We use it not just on pasta, Gnocchi, Pizza but everything else too like Fish, Chicken, Veggies, over bread, you name it, it tastes wonderful!

I also know people think it's hard to make and so they settle for a bottle of store bought Pesto, or as the other day showed me when I went to the local farmer's market where there are several people selling their versions of Pesto.... I can make this better plus it was expensive.
So being at the market I took advantage of the offerings and got 2 bunches of fresh Basil, I already had Italian olive oil, crushed red pepper, had some great Granna Padana Cheese from Costco, got some toasted almonds so I was set.
Ingredients:

2 bunches Italian Basil (about 35g each or enough to fill the food processor bowl)
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Pinch of sea salt
1/4-1/2 cup hard cheese, your choice, grated
1/3 cup or so, almonds, chopped
Olive oil, your choice

The almonds still had peels on them so I put 1 cup water to boil in a small pot, threw the almonds in once it was boiling and watched to see the peels get wrinkly. 2-3 minutes at most. Remove from the water, allow to cool slightly and then press the pointed edge of the almond and the peeled almond will fly out so pay attention. Then chop them so you won't tax your processor.
Put all ingredients into your food processor (you can also use a blender but it's easier) except for the oil, put about 1/4 cup oil on top of the basil, close your processor and give it a spin.
You'll notice it's dry so open the pour shoot and dribble in olive oil until it comes together and is no longer dry.
Now open the processor and taste / look at it. Do you like it? Does it need more salt? More cheese? More red pepper? Adjust the seasonings until you love it! And you're done! You've made pesto.
Get a really clean glass jar, cover it up and put in the fridge. Now whenever you want a quick supper or snack you've got something really good already made.... it will only take minutes to get dinner on.
NOTE: You can exchange the basil for half and half if you like with other herbs you like too. I've used Cilantro, Mint, whatever I have on hand, same goes for the cheese too, I've even used Cotija!
Remember, no rules, it's your taste that counts so feel free to change and experiment and you'll find just the mix you love! Enjoy!