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1
Place a few leaves of the basil in the bottom of a mortar and sprinkle the salt over them.
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2
Crush the leaves coarsely with the pestle, add a few more leaves, and continue crushing, adding new leaves each time those in the mortar are crushed, until all the leaves are coarsely ground.
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3
Toss in the garlic and pound until the mixture forms a smooth paste.
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4
Add the pine nuts and grind them to a paste.
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5
Stir in the cheese, then enough of the olive oil to give the pesto a creamy consistency.
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6
Combine the basil, salt, and garlic in the work bowl, add 2 tablespoons of the oil, and blend at low speed, stopping frequently to press the basil down around the blades, until the basil forms a coarse paste.
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7
Toss in the pine nuts and pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
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8
Blend until the pine nuts are ground fine.
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9
Stir in the grated cheeses and enough additional olive oil to form a creamy paste.
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10
To toast pine nuts, spread them out on a baking sheet and bake in a 325 F oven, shaking the pan once or twice as they bake, until lightly and evenly browned, about 6 minutes.
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11
Or toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan continuously, until they turn golden brown, about 6 minutes.
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12
Cook 8 ounces long (spaghetti or linguine, for example) dried pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until done.
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13
Ladle out and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta-cooking liquid.
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14
Drain the pasta and return it to the pot off the heat.
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15
Add about 6 tablespoons of the pesto and enough pasta-cooking water to make the pesto fluid enough to coat the pasta lightly.
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16
Stir in grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to taste, if you like, and check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper if you like.
