Pesto Gnocchi

Gnocchi are the pillows of comfort food. Plus, when you cook them once from scratch, they no longer seem like a daunting task.

For me, the hardest part is mashing the potatoes. It’s an arm workout and a half (maybe I’m just weak), but once the potatoes are mashed, the rest is a cinch. The fun thing about gnocchi, like with any kind of pasta, is you can choose the kind of sauce to make them in.

I usually love gnocchi with pesto, but mainly because I love pesto. My Nonna grows bushels of basil in her garden, so I’m lucky to always have at least one container of fresh pesto in the freezer ready to go.

The trick to cooking this pasta is ensuring you have more than enough water to gnocchi ratio. If you crowd the gnocchi in a pot, they could come out mushy (lesson learned).

But the great thing about this type of pasta is its cooking time in the pot — a few minutes until they reach the top and you’re good to go.

Prep time | 40 mins.
Cook time | 20 mins.
Serves | 2 people

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 medium russet potatoes, mashed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper 
  • 1 egg 
  • 1 cup of all-purpose flour + extra flour for dusting the individual gnocchi
  • 1/2 cup of pesto 

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Boil a large pot of water. When boiled, add the potatoes and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until a fork can easily piece a potato. Drain the potatoes and set aside until cool enough to handle but still warm.
  2. Using a peeler, remove the skin from the potatoes. In a medium bowl, mash the potatoes until all the lumps are gone. Add the salt and pepper and mix well. Make a well in the center of the potatoes and crack the egg into it. Whisk the egg. Then, using your hands, gently mix it into the potatoes until evenly distributed. 
  3. Put 1 cup of flour onto a clean surface and turn out the potato dough onto it. Keep extra flour on the side in case you need it. Knead the dough, only incorporating as much flour as you need along the way until the dough loses stickiness and becomes more solid. 
  4. Slice the dough into 4 parts. Roll out 1 part into a long rope, about 1 inch wide. Cut the long rope in half and continue rolling each half. 
  5. Start slicing each half into 1-inch squares. Slide a fork on top of each 1-inch square to created ridges for a decorative look.
  6. Set aside the gnocchi squares onto a floured surface. 
  7. Once you’ve made all the gnocchi, boil a pot of water. While they cook, heat a pan with the pesto sauce.
  8. When the water is ready, add the gnocchi to the pot and let them cook. When the gnocchi float to the top, they’re ready.
  9. Add the gnocchi to the pesto pan and mix well. You can toss the gnocchi in the pan until they’re lightly golden and just a bit crispy.
  10. Plate the gnocchi and enjoy with a glass of wine!