Crispy Gnocchi with Pesto & Blistered Tomatoes

It’s officially summer, hooray! The solstice has been and gone and it’s time to dive into all the wonderful produce that summer brings.This recipe for crispy gnocchi with pesto and blistered tomatoes is summer in a bowl. Truly a delicious meal that will fill you up with comfort. The sweetness of the roasted tomatoes against the fresh basil pesto is a match made in heaven.

To me, basil is the scent of summer and I often grab handfuls just to sniff. If you’re not a basil lover, you could make this pesto with kale instead or even spinach (although a little out of season now.) The key to a good pesto is superb extra virgin olive oil, so don’t scrimp on that part. You can change pine nuts to any nuts you have available. I used the whole batch of pesto, but if you have any leftover, simply pop into an ice cube tray and freeze for later. Try and get your gnocchi nice and crispy on the outside, it adds great texture to the dish.

Crispy Gnocchi with Pesto & Blistered Tomatoes

Serves: 2

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15-20 mins

Total time: 25-30 mins

Ingredients

  • 500g ready made gnocchi

  • 2 banana shallots

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • Large handful of fresh basil + extra

  • Extra virgin olive oil

  • 60g pine nuts

  • 40g Parmesan cheese + extra

  • 1 tsp salt

  • Juice and zest of a lemon

  • 12 cherry tomatoes (vine)

directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 200c, line a baking tray with foil and cook tomatoes for 10 minutes. (Or skip this part and blister your tomatoes in a frying pan)

  2. Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the gnocchi and whilst you’re waiting for them to float to the top, make the pesto.

  3. To make the pesto, add 40g pine nuts, 40g Parmesan, large handful of basil, 1 tsp salt, juice of half a lemon, 2 garlic to a small food processor and blitz until coarse. Slowly drizzle in extra virgin olive oil until you have the consistency you desire. Set aside.

  4. Remove gnocchi once floating with a slotted spoon. Set aside on a plate.

  5. In a large frying pan add 1 tbsp of oil, add finely chopped shallot and cook for around 2 mins. Then add the drained gnocchi and cook until golden on both sides (around 4-5 minutes per side.)

  6. Stir in pesto, toss to coat. Serve up and top with the blistered tomatoes, Parmesan, lemon zest, extra pine nuts and fresh basil.

BlogGemma MorsonJune, Eat June, Summer, Gnocchi, Pasta, POPULAR