Sourdough gnocchi with homemade pesto sauce

Well, my Aerogarden has done it again… I have such an over-abundance  of sweet basil that I have run out of things to make with it! I have realized through this that I really can only eat so much pasta and these yummy little appetizer things that are basically just goat cheese + lemon juice + maple syrup scooped up with a date, placed on a basil leaf and rolled in prosciutto… I mean, it’s been a yummy couple of weeks! But I am ready for a change.

This looks like a great way to use up some of that basil… homemade pesto sauce, to go on homemade gnocchi! Gnocchi is one of my favourite foods, and homemade pesto? It doesn’t get much better than that. Pesto has a lot of health-promoting ingredients too (basil is anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, may help prevent and fight heart disease, fights diabetes, helps protect the liver and more! Garlic is heart-healthy, among other things, and olive oil is a healthy fat). Healthy eating can be so yummy!

Making something like this from scratch is surprising easy, and it’s so yummy that making it as a meal to impress your family and friends over the holidays is a great idea. It costs not much to whip up a batch and you can serve it with literally anything (I love it with this pesto sauce though!).

Happy holidays everyone! Have a yummy festive season.

Sourdough Gnocchi with Pesto:

·         5 potatoes, baked and mashed

·         500 grams all-purpose flour

·         200 grams starter or discard

·         10 grams salt

For the pesto:

·         1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried

·         3 medium cloves of garlic

·         Small handful of raw pine nuts

·         Roughly ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, loosely packed and freshly grated

·         A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

1)    To make the pesto: chop the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves. Once this is loosely chopped, add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil and chop some more (at this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince). Add about half the pine nuts and chop. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and chop. In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil "cake". Transfer the pesto "cake" to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake). Cover the pesto "cake" with a bit of olive oil (it doesn't take much, just a few tablespoons). At this point, you can set the pesto aside, or place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it

2)    Mix everything together and rest the dough in the fridge (we don’t need it rise)

3)    Roll them out cut into small pieces and roll it on the gnocchi board and cover with semolina flour

4)    Boil in water until it rises up, then take it out

5)    Just before serving, give the pesto a quick stir to incorporate some of the oil into the basil

6)    Serve the gnocchi with the pesto sauce

Homemade sourdough gnocchi with pesto sauce... what a yummy way to achieve better gut health!