Pesto Gnocchi Summer Pasta

adminSeasonal Eating: Summer, Vegetables
Pesto Gnocchi Summer Pasta
Serves 4
Pillowy gnocchi with sautéed seasonal local vegetables in a pesto sauce with parmesan cheese.
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Ingredients
  1. Vegetables
  2. 1 tbsp olive oil
  3. 450 g green beans, cut
  4. 450 g yellow peppers, chopped
  5. 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
  6. Gnocchi
  7. 2 lbs russet potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes), mashed
  8. 1 egg, lightly beaten
  9. 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
  10. fine grain sea salt
  11. Pesto Sauce
  12. 1/2 cup fresh basil
  13. 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  14. 3 tbsp of olive oil
  15. 1 cloves of garlic
  16. Juice of one lemon
  17. Salt and pepper
For gnocchi
  1. Fill a large pot with cold water. Salt the water then cut potatoes in half and place them in the pot. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender throughout, this takes roughly 40-50 minutes.
  2. Remove the potatoes from the water. Peel each potato as soon as possible after removing from the water (without burning yourself). Be mindful that you want to work relatively quickly so you can mash the potatoes when they are hot. To do this you can either push the potatoes through a ricer, or run a fork down the sides of the peeled potato creating a nice, fluffy potato base to work with. Don't over-mash - you are simply after an even consistency with no noticeable lumps.
  3. Let the potatoes cool spread out across the cutting board - ten or fifteen minutes. Long enough that the egg won't cook when it is incorporated into the potatoes. When you are ready, pull the potatoes into a soft mound - drizzle with the beaten egg and sprinkle 3/4 cup of the flour across the top. Scrape and fold until the mixture is a light crumble. Very gently, with a feathery touch knead the dough. This is also the point you can add more flour (a sprinkle at a time) if the dough is too tacky.
  4. The dough should be moist but not sticky. It should feel almost billowy. Cut it into 8 pieces. Now gently roll each chunk of dough into a snake-shaped log, roughly the thickness of your thumb. Use a knife to cut pieces every 3/4-inch.
  5. To shape the gnocchi roll each piece on the counter using the tines of the fork to roll the gnocchi. The gnocchi should curl into a slight "C" shape, their backs will capture the impression of the tines as tiny ridges (good for catching sauce later). Set each gnocchi aside, dust with a bit more flour if needed, until you are ready to boil them. This step will help the gnocchi “grab” onto the sauce you are serving with it.
  6. Bring pot of water to a boil. Cook the gnocchi in batches by dropping them into the boiling water roughly twenty at a time. They are cooked when they pop back up to the top. Fish them out of the water a few at a time with a slotted spoon ten seconds or so after they've surfaced.
For pesto sauce
  1. Prepare the pesto sauce by putting all ingredients for the pesto in a blender and blend until smooth. If pesto is too thick add more olive oil to thin it out.
For vegetables
  1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high. Add green beans, yellow peppers and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender (about 4-5 minutes). Add tomatoes and cook until juicy (about 2 minutes).
  2. Transfer drained gnocchi to skillet. Toss gnocchi, adding enough cooking liquid to create a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in pesto sauce.
Notes
  1. You can easily substitute a variety of seasonal vegetables, different herbs and even try other cheeses like Pecerino, Asiago. You can also make a big batch of gnocchi and freeze for later enjoyment.
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