By Robert Holian
14. Gnocchi Pesto
8 steps
Prep:1h 20minCook:5min
Cake flour is not absolutely essential, but the lower protein amount in the flour helps you retain a nice soft fluffy texture. Of course you can save a lot of time by buying pesto or gnocchi from the supermarket, but this is much more something to savour when made at home. A potato ricer will really help get the texture you want from the gnocchi, mashing the potato as you would for mash potato doesn’t seem to work quite as well.
Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 01:05:02 GMT
Nutrition balance score
Great
Glycemic Index
76
High
Glycemic Load
98
High
Nutrition per serving
Calories1066.9 kcal (53%)
Total Fat51 g (73%)
Carbs128.4 g (49%)
Sugars2.7 g (3%)
Protein25.1 g (50%)
Sodium462.3 mg (23%)
Fiber9.4 g (34%)
% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet
Ingredients
4 servings
Gnocchi
Pesto
Other
Instructions
Step 1
For the pesto, blend garlic and oil in a blender until smooth. Then add pine nuts (if not roasted these can be toasted in a small non-stick fry pan) and blend again until smooth. Add basil and grated parmesan and blend until it’s a pleasing pesto texture. Add sea salt to taste, and more olive oil if needed.
Step 2
Peel potatoes and boil in lightly salted water until just cooked all the way through, usually about 20 mins.
Step 3
Remove and mash through a potato ricer. Spread out mash potato and allow to cool.
Step 4
Add egg to potatoes, then sprinkle flour, and bring the dough together. Knead gently to bring together, but not like pasta dough. Just bring it together. Ideally you want as little flour in the dough as you can get away with, but I find the amount I’ve listed is pretty consistently bullet-proof. If the dough is still wet, add more flour, but hopefully you won’t need to.
Step 5
Dust a little plain flour on your bench top or a chopping board. Cut a small portion of dough off, and then roll into a sausage like log. Cut pieces to get pillow shaped gnocchi. Toss them in a little more flour, to ensure the newly exposed sides are also covered. You can also imprint them with a fork, which is also pretty traditional. Arrange in one layer on a tray.
Step 6
Add the further tablespoon of olive oil, white wine vinegar, and baby spinach leaves to a large frying pan but don’t turn on the heat just yet.
Step 7
Cook gnocchi in a large pot of salted boiling water for a few minutes, until they rise to the surface. That’s when they’re ready to be drained. However, you’ll find it’s very difficult to add all the gnocchi to the boiling water simultaneously, and they cook so quickly that you can’t delay! So rather than using a colander to drain the entire pot, use a wok strainer with a handle to drain gnocchi once they rise, and add immediately to the frying pan with the baby spinach.
Step 8
Pour the pesto over the cooked gnocchi in the frying pan and turn on the heat, combining everything and heating through for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and serve!
Notes
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