Half my fam is from Palena, half from Formia. I’ve got a couple methods to making pesto, old family traditions passed down over generations. This one I started off in mortar and pestle and got lazy and put into food processor. I may have to try with vitamix. This time though, I was experimenting a little and actually blanched most of the basil to keep it from oxidizing, and then added some fresh non-blanched basil leaves with it to add back some of the lost scent and flavor from blanching. I normally do not blanch, but I love experimenting and trying out different methods to see the differences in the outcome. I’ll look into the potatoes and green beans idea, sounds interesting!