Gnocchi di Patate con Pesto alla Fornaia Potato Gnocchi with Walnut Pesto Sauce
Ingredients (serves 6) For the sauce: • 4 bunches of basil, leaves only • 80 g shelled walnuts • 2 garlic cloves • 8 tbs grated pecorino cheese • 200 ml extra virgin olive oil • 1 pinch of salt • 1 pinch of ground pepper • the juice of 1⁄4 of a lemon
For the dough: • 1 kg potatoes • 300 g Italian 00 or plain flour • salt • 1 egg
Mix all the ingredients except the pecorino cheese in a food processor until you obtain a smooth mixture then stir in the pecorino cheese. ‘Boil the potatoes whole and unpeeled in plenty of water until tender (on average 40 minutes should be long enough). Drain and peel them while still very hot. Put them through a food mill directly onto a bench. Sift the flour on top of them, make a well in the middle and break the egg into the well. Mix gently to achieve a soft dough. Add more flour if the dough is too wet. Roll the dough into long logs of about 2 cm diameter then cut them into 5 cm long pieces. Flour them to prevent sticking and cook them in a pot with abundant salted boiling water. Cook a few of them at a time. The gnocchi will be cooked in about 1 minute, after they have floated to the surface. Drizzle them with pesto as you put them on the serving dish and serve immediately. ** This gnocchi recipe can be served with a wide array of different sauces. **
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