Don't Pasta-p This Gnocchi Recipe!

Buongiorno! This week I had the chance to explore a classic pasta dish that has been renowned for its fluffy, soft texture. Gnocchi! This dish may seem like a challenge but in reality, it takes less than 30 minutes to make and consistently has great results! Gnocchi is basically balls of potato, flour, eggs, and any seasonings you would like! Because of this flexibility with the recipe itself, it is super easy to adapt this to make different flavors and even sweet desserts as well! Gnocchi is not the only thing that goes into the dish; however, the sauce is just as important as the pasta. If you decide on a richer sauce, then you could keep the gnocchi simple to balance it out. If you decide on a lighter sauce, then a more seasoned gnocchi would have more impact. My partner and I created a classic ricotta gnocchi with a pesto, roasted tomato sauce! For our dish we worked more on the sauce than the gnocchi as it had most of the flavor there. When handling gnocchi, you need to be careful to have your tools well-floured so that the gnocchi can keep its shape rather than sticking to the tools you use. These things cook really fast so be careful to not overcook it either! Once it floats to the top wait a while then take it out, if you want to really make sure it’s cooked you can cut one open and check inside it. If you’re using a nice sauce you may want to sauté the gnocchi inside the pan with the sauce for a little bit, if that’s the case then undercooking the gnocchi would be better as it cooks inside the sauce. Now most people are intimidated by the looks of gnocchi but have no fear, gnocchi can be whatever shape you desire! If you don’t happen to have a gnocchi board a fork will do the job just fine or even just cutting them into little squares.

Ricotta Gnocchi Recipe

Ingredients

8 Oz of ricotta cheese

2 Eggs

1 cup of parmesan (1/2 for the gnocchi and 1/2 for the pesto)

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of pepper

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 cup of all purpose flour

1 cup of small cherry tomatoes

2 cups of fresh basil

2 cloves of garlic

2/3 cup of olive oil

Gnocchi

1. Mix the ricotta, 1/2 cup of parmesan, salt, pepper, and eggs together until well incorporated

2. Mix in the flour until it forms a soft dough

3. Roll into logs and cut them however large you wish your gnocchi to be

4. Freeze or boil them in salted water then saute in a sauce of your choice

Roasted Tomato Pesto

1. Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves and toss them in salt, oil, and pepper. Place them in a 400 C oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until they are well toasted

2. In a food processor blend up the basil and garlic. Once incorporated, slowly stream in the olive oil until the preferred consistency is reached

3. Season to taste