The one and only pesto pasta

1. Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan until they’re a nice golden brown, then let them cool completely—for example on a cool countertop. It’s important that the nuts cool down, otherwise the pesto will lose flavour. Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on the stove with a pinch of salt and cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions until al dente.

2. Peel the garlic cloves and put them in the food processor together with the Parmesan. Pulse until everything is finely chopped. Add the cooled pine nuts and pulse again. Then add the basil. When it forms a nice green mixture, pour in the olive oil in a thin, steady stream. We used 500 ml of oil because we wanted the pesto to be thin enough to work as a pasta sauce. The less oil you use, the thicker the pesto becomes (thicker pesto, for example, is great on a sandwich). Try not to run the processor longer than necessary, otherwise the basil will warm up and that will detract from the flavour.

3. Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a frying pan, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and add the cherry tomatoes (you can leave them on the vine if you like). Leave them for a few minutes until the tomatoes burst. Remove the pan from the heat and let the tomatoes sit for a moment. This is how you confit the tomatoes, and by leaving them like this the flavours of the oil, pepper and salt soak in nicely.

4. Toss the pesto through the spaghetti, divide among plates and garnish with some tomatoes, arugula and coarsely grated Parmesan. Pour a good glass of white wine and enjoy!