Lemon Asparagus and Pea Gnocchi

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

500 g gnocchi

500 g asparagus

80 g peas fresh or frozen

2 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot diced

2 garlic cloves juice of half a lemon

1 cup water warm

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

60 g grana padano

Method

1. Clean the asparagus and chop them into small pieces. Leave the top part of the asparagus intact as we will use this for decorating the dish at the end.

2. Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a frying pan. Add the shallots and let them cook for a few minutes. Add the garlic and all the asparagus to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Let cook for a few minutes.

3. To the frying pan gently add the warm water and let the vegetables cook for about 5 minutes until most of the water evaporates. Cook until the centre of the asparagus are tender. The cooking time might vary depending on how small you cut the asparagus.

4. Once ready, take away from the mixture the asparagus tops and set aside.

5. Add the vegetable mixture and the lemon juice to your blender or food processor. Blend together until you get a nice bright green sauce. Set aside.

6. Boil a large pot of water and season with salt. Add the gnocchi and let them cook according to the timing on the package.

7. In the meantime, heat up a frying pan and add the lemon asparagus sauce and the peas. Add the cooked gnocchi to the sauce together with a ladle of the pasta water. Cook gently for a few minutes until the sauce starts to thicken and covers all the gnocchi.

8. Finally, at this point add the grana padano cheese to the pan. Mix well so that the cheese doesn’t curdle.

9. Serve the lemon asparagus gnocchi immediately. Decorate each plate with the asparagus tops that you have put aside earlier.