Description
Perfect for an Italian Christmas feast, this festive pesto and potato gnocchi is the perfect dish to accompany the meal.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 Large Russet Potatoes
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- 1 Large Egg
- 3 Cups of All-Purpose Flour * (1)
- 1/2 Cup Pesto
Instructions
- First, wash the russet potatoes & cut them into 1 inch thick pieces.
- Place the russet potato slices in a large pot of cold water with 1 teaspoon of salt at high heat. Once the water begins to boil turn the temperature down to medium heat.
- Cook the potatoes until tender & a knife can easily pierce the potato, approximately 15-20 minutes. Then remove the pot of boiled potatoes from the heat. *(2)
- Working with two potato slices at a time, remove the skin, & press the potatoes through a potato ricer. Continue this process until all of your potatoes are riced.
- Let your potatoes cool for 10 minutes so that the egg doesn’t begin to cook when you incorporate it.
- Once cooled, sprinkle a little bit of the flour on your counter & create a mound of riced potatoes with a hole in the center. Sprinkle 1 cup of flour on top of the rice mound, then add 1 whisked egg & 1/2 cup pesto to the center of the potato rice mound. Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of flour on top & carefully blend the ingredients by kneading them. *(3)
- To prevent hard or dense gnocchi knead the dough gently & only until the ingredients are combined so you will have light, fluffy, & billowy Pesto Potato Gnocchi.
- Once the ingredients are evenly dispersed, & the dough is no longer sticky, take a small handful of gnocchi dough & roll it (on a lightly floured surface) into a long thin rod approximately 1/2 inch thick. Then cut the dough into 1/2 inch bite size gnocchi pieces.
- Continue this process until all of your dough is cut into gnocchi.
- To make your Pesto Potato Gnocchi look restaurant perfect you can add little marks to the top of each gnocchi piece by gently pressing the teeth of a fork into each piece of gnocchi.
- In a large pot of boiling water, with 1 teaspoon of salt, cook the gnocchi (in 3-4 batches if need be) stirring frequently. After the gnocchi rises to the top of the pot let it cook for an extra 2-3 minutes then remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon & toss in a light drizzle of olive oil (to prevent sticking).
- Continue this process until all of your Pesto Potato Gnocchi is cooked.
- Place your Pesto Potato Gnocchi in a bed of bright red tomato sauce for an extra festive appearance & serve hot!
Notes
This will seem like a lot of flour, but if you don’t incorporate enough flour the gnocchi can be too sticky when rolled &/or come out too mushy when cooked.
If the potatoes overcook they will become waterlogged & require extra flour.
If your gnocchi dough is still sticky (which can occur if the potatoes cooked too long) add more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky.
- Category: Main, Side
- Cuisine: Italian