Begin by toasting the pine kernels in a pan, gently heating and constantly moving until the turn brown. Once done set aside and use a blender with a grater to grate the fresh parmesan, don’t be tempted to cut corners and use pre-grated as the flavour just isn’t as good. Again once done set aside.

Now put your basil leaves into the empty blender and add a few (2-3) twists of salt to the leaves, this is basically to keep the colour a nice green and there is salt in the parmesan so go easy. Blend for 30 seconds, then add the pine kernels and blend for a minute. Now add the freshly grated parmesan cheese and 200 millilitres of extra virgin olive oil and blend until you have a paste.

You’re done! If you are making the sauce for use later, use a jar to put the paste into and top with a little olive oil to seal the sauce in.