Spaghetti with Walnut-Arugula Pesto

Serves 4

• 3 cups baby arugula, washed thoroughly

• 1 cup walnuts, toasted

• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic

• 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 spaghetti

• Flaky sea salt 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the arugula for 30 seconds then transfer to an ice bath. Do not discard the hot water. Remove the arugula from the ice water 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 fairly smooth. Turn off the food processor, scrape the walnuts off the sides of the bowl and add the blanched arugula, garlic, kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes and process for another minute then, 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 spaghetti 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. 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.