Jamie Oliver's best basil pesto with basil, parmesan and pine nuts

1. Peel and bash the garlic in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of sea salt.

2. Pick the basil leaves and add with the pine nuts, and pound to a coarse paste.

3. Muddle in the extra virgin olive oil and finely grate and stir in the parmesan, adding a splash of water if you like it a little runnier, then continue bashing and pounding until smooth.

4. Have a taste and season with salt and black pepper, if needed. For a lovely creamy finish, try crumbling in and stirring through a cooked Jersey Royal. Serve with grilled meat or fish, or simply stirred through pasta – delicious!

Tips: If you don't have a pestle and mortar, you can use a blender or food processor instead.

Alternative flavour combos

• Use half basil and half rocket, replace the pine nuts with walnuts, and use pecorino instead of parmesan to keep things vegie.

• Swap out pine nuts for almonds and basil for rocket.

• Use hazelnuts in place of pine nuts and replace basil with flat-leaf parsley. 

• Go for an Asian vibe and use cashews, coriander and a squeeze of lime. 

Jamie: Keep Cooking and Carry On, Fridays 7:30pm only on 10.