Gnocchi with pesto cream

Serves:

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups (300g) plain flour
• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeds removed and finely chopped

Pesto cream

• 1 bunch of basil, leaves only
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
• 1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil
• 1 cup (250ml) cream

Method

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the salt.

Push the mashed potatoes through a sieve into a bowl. Stir eggs through. Add one cup of the flour and mix with a fork. Add enough additional flour to make a moist, but firm, dough.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Divide ball into 6 pieces.

Roll the pieces into logs and cut into 3cm pieces. Pick up each piece, and press it onto a fork with your thumb, then roll it off.

In a food processor, combine basil, parmesan, lemon juice and pine nuts. Add olive oil in a drizzle until pesto forms. Bring cream to a gentle simmer in a pan. Stir through pesto and remove from heat.

Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook them until they float. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.

Serve with pesto sauce, diced tomato and a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts.

Find more pesto recipes

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• Chicken and pesto penne
• Chicken, pesto and tomato penne
• Grilled chicken with pesto
• Pesto
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• Rocket and basil pesto
• Pesto and parmesan muffins
• Fast Pesto recipe
• Pesto chicken pasta
• Pesto chicken turnovers
• Pesto pasta pronto
• Spaghetti with pesto
• Tomato, risoni and pesto soup

Serving Suggestions

Note

• Don’t over-mix the dough or the gnocchi will become tough. 
• The gnocchi can be frozen after boiling. Rinse with cold water, drain and arrange in layers on baking paper in a plastic container and freeze. When needed, pop them frozen into a pot of boiling water and cook as above.
• To toast pine nuts you can dry-fry them in a fry pan over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Make sure you keep turning them so they don't burn.
• This recipe was created by Alana House for Kidspot, New Zealand's best recipe finder.