Pesto

 1 cup of fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup of pinolli
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
extra-virgin olive oil

There are two recipes to make your pesto sauce: one traditional and one modern. Suit yourself:

Tradicional

Put all ingredients in a mortaio, a typical Genovese pestle, and smash everything for about 20 minutes. Sing Italian songs, tell everybody about your old Genovese grandmother, and add olive oil until it has the consistence of a paste.

Modern

Put everything in the blender for 2 minutes and add olive oil until it has the consistence of a paste.

Serving Pasta al pesto

You can freeze it in small portions  for up to 3 months. The proportion is one tablespoon per person. Do not microwave it - remember it has cheese.

When the pasta is almost done, take some of the cooking water and dilute the pesto in the bowl where the pasta is to  be served. Add some olive oil. Mix the pasta al dente and serve immediately. Or...

Take the pesto to the table, without adding olive oil. Leave the pasta without any sauce, and bring to table a fondue réchaud with boiling olive oil. The guests should help themselves with the pasta, then add some pesto on the top and pour boiling oil. They should mix everything immediately, while the olive oil fries the pesto. The mis-en-scène is quite impressing.

 Do not try this last method if you have children at the table!