Pesto is best in a mortar and pestle. This mortar and pestle is excellent, and at the time of this posting, $24.99: www.amazon.com/ChefSofi-Morta...
Any solid granite, 2-cup capacity mortar and pestle will do, though.
For the pesto, crush a few cloves of garlic with a big pinch of kosher salt in the bowl of mortar and pestle. Add a quarter cup of pinenuts (they do not need to be toasted, but you can if you'd like) and crush. Add a few cups of basil leaves a handful at a time, crushing them as you go. Add an ounce of grated Parmesan cheese and work the whole thing into a paste that's as smooth or chunky as you'd like. Add a 1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil a couple tablespoons at a time, working it into the pesto with a circular motion of the pestle.
Taste and season with salt as desired. Store the pesto in a glass jar with a layer of olive oil over the top in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To serve it, cook some pasta (this recipe makes enough to sauce about 400g of pasta), reserving a half cup of pasta water. Put the cooked pasta in a bowl, add the pesto and a big splash of the pasta water. toss and stir with tongs or a fork and spoon, adding more pasta water as necessary until it forms a creamy sauce that clings to the pasta.
Ps: we are testing out a theme song in today’s episode. Exciting homegrown motion graphics and more to come.