This dish is one of those that requires so little work, yet yields such a high reward. The pesto is so fresh and packed with flavour and goes so well with the gooey, chewy gnocchi and the sweet, juicy tomatoes. The gorgeous green colour of the pasta and sauce command one’s attention like a piece of fine art and the feeling after emptying the bowl? Happy. Content. Comfortably full. Just perfect. And then you realize you just ate like a bunch of spinach without even tasting it?! What? It doesn’t get much better than that. I realize I am cringing as I write this. But seriously, it’s that good.
And before we start: I’m aware that gnocchi contain potatoes and that these don’t, hence: these are not real gnocchi. Yet the consistency is similar, they look similar and frankly, I don’t care: I’m calling them gnocchi.
Note: the recipe is super easily veganized and equally yummy vegan or vegetarian. The pasta is egg-free already and I prefer nutritional yeast over parmesan in the dough anyways. Simply sub the parmesan for a little nutritional yeast in the pesto recipe and the butter for dairy free butter or olive oil and you’re good to go.
Ingredients: for two portions
Gnocchi:
150 g fresh spinach
1 cup plain white flour (+ more)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (or parmesan)
a pinch of salt
Pesto:
leaves from one pot of basil (about 2 large handfuls I think)
one small handful of brazil nuts
one small clove of garlic (optional: just skip it if you can’t eat garlic – it’s just as delicious without)
lots of extra virgin olive oil
the tiniest squeeze of lemon juice (seriously, just 1/4 tsp makes all the difference)
a handful grated parmesan (or 1 tsp nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt)
a tiny knob of butter (or dairy-free butter/olive oil)
a handful of your favourite cherry tomatoes
Method:
- Place the spinach leaves in a food processor and press down to make them more compact before adding the flour. Then, mix until a vibrant green dough forms. This may take some time and you may have to stop and stir things around with a spoon or push the spinach down towards the blades a couple of times. Eventually though, it should turn to dough – you just have to believe it to make it happen.
- If the dough is a little sticky, add a little more flour or potato starch and mix some more until it forms a soft ball. Place in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the food processor before making the pesto. Fill a small saucepan with water and a little salt and bring to a boil while making the pesto.
- Pesto time! Add the basil leaves, brazil nuts and garlic to the food processor and mix until nicely chopped. Add olive oil – a little at a time – until you’ve reached a nice and runny pesto consistency. Transfer to a bowl or a small jar and stir in the parmesan. Next up, have a little taste, and if you think there’s a little something missing that you can’t quite put your finger on, add the tiniest squeeze of lemon juice, stir once more and you’re set.
- Get the pasta dough out of the fridge and form little lumps with a spoon/your hands/utensil of choice. They don’t have to look gorgeous, just make sure they’re approximately the same size. Also, they will expand a lot when boiled, so don’t make them too large. Once the water is boiling, pour in the little green things and allow them to boil over medium/high heat until they start floating to the surface.
- Over medium/high heat, add the butter to a pan. Drain the pasta and add to the pan once hot. Cook and stir occasionally until the gnocchi have just the slightest golden crust. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Add some of the pesto and stir to combine. Transfer to your serving plate/bowl of choice and top with halved cherry tomatoes. Enjoy!
