Bring a small sauce pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the basil leaves and blanch for 1 minute. Immediately remove the leaves and place into ice water. This will help keep them bright green and remove some of the bitterness.
Reserve about 5 tbsp. of the cooking liquid.
Drain the blanched leaves and squeeze any excess water that remains. Place the basil into a blender along with the 5 tbsp. of water, olive oil, garlic cloves grated on a Microplane zester and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning adding more salt if needed.
Will keep refrigerated for 3-5 days. Toss with pasta, put on pizza or use as a dressing on salad.
Recipe Courtesy of Megan Mitchell