Pesto Classico

• 1 pinch coarse sea salt
• 60 small or 30 large fresh basil leaves, carefully wiped, stems and spines removed

Add the sea salt and a few of the basil leaves to your marble mortar. Using a wooden pestle, crush the leaves and salt gently but with a firm rhythm against the bottom and sides of the mortar so that the leaves gradually come apart. Keep adding leaves a few at a time until they are all used. While the leaves are still partly intact, add the garlic and then pound it too, just until it is mashed