Spaghetti finished in fresh basil pesto with extra garlic and chilli sweated into the pan first, the sauce loose enough to drape every strand. Twenty minutes, two plates, no leftovers.

The trick that lifts this above a jar-of-pesto-and-pasta dinner is the warm bloom of garlic and chilli in olive oil before the pesto joins the pan. The heat opens up the aromatics without cooking the pesto itself, which would dull the basil and turn the colour brown. Pull the pan off the heat before the pesto goes in.

Reserve a generous half-cup of pasta water before draining. The starch is what binds the pesto into a sauce that clings to the spaghetti rather than pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Add it a tablespoon at a time as you toss, until the pasta is coated and glossy.

Grated parmesan at the table; a final drizzle of cold green olive oil. A glass of cold Vermentino or a Pinot Grigio alongside. The kind of dinner that makes the case for keeping a jar of homemade pesto in the fridge at all times.