Orecchiette in Creamy Mint Pesto

Serves 4

• 2 cups flat leaf parsley leaves, washed thoroughly

• 1 cup mint leaves, washed thoroughly

• 1 cup walnuts, toasted

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more for topping

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

• 1 pound dried orecchiette

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 2 cups baby arugula, washed thoroughly

• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half lengthwise

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the parsley and mint for 30 seconds then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Do not discard the hot water. Remove the leaves from the and squeeze some of the liquid out of the arugula. Set aside.

Place the walnuts in the bed of a food processor and process for about 1 minute until smooth. Turn off the food processor, scrape the walnuts off the sides of the bowl and add the blanched parsley, mint, kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes and process for another minute. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil through the feed tube. Process for an additional minute then turn off the processor and add the parmesan cheese. Pulse to combine then transfer to a dish until ready to use.

Bring the reserved water from the arugula to a boil and add enough kosher salt to make the water taste like the sea. Add the orecchiette to the boiling water and cook according to the package's directions for al denté. Reserve about 1 cup of the cooking liquid then drain the pasta and toss with the pesto, heavy cream, arugula and cherry tomatoes. If the pasta looks dry, you can add a bit of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Transfer the pasta to plates, top with any remaining pesto, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and flaky sea salt. Serve hot.