Gnocchi with Cavolo Nero Pesto

This is an extremely loose and flexible recipe and you can do whatever you want with it. You can swap a lot of the ingredients for things you might have at home and it’ll still work a treat. If you don’t have access to cavolo nero then you can use regular kale and broccoli mix or get yourself to Bunnings and buy a punnet to plant in your garden so you’ve always got it on hand. You can also add some crème fraîche if you’re after something creamy — no rules here folks.

Pesto Ingredients

‍½ cup almonds
3 garlic cloves
1 bunch cavolo nero (aka Tuscan kale or black cabbage)
1 lemon (rind only)
1/2 cup parsley leaves
4 tbsp smoked olive oil (or just use all regular olive oil if you don’t have this)
1/4 cup Olive oil
70g Parmigiano Reggiano
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
Salt and pepp‍

Gnocchi Ingredients

4 washed, unpeeled medium-sized sebago potatoes1 cup of 00 flour
1 beaten egg
pinch of salt

Make it

Roast the almonds and garlic (skin on with a little drizz of oil) in the oven at 180˚C till the almonds are toasted and the garlic is soft. Get a large pot of lightly salted boiling water on the stove and cook the cavolo nero leaves (stripped from the stems) for around 5 mins. Add everything to a food processor and blend till fine and pesto-y. Taste and add more salt, cheese, pepper or vinegar so it’s just as you want it to be.

Now to make the gnocchi, you can watch the vid made by my very clever friend Emily Van Loon here of this being made. I make the gnocchi in a rough recipe and then tweak it to the day. You’ve got to feel your way through this one and to be safe ALWAYS test cook your first piece before you start cutting the whole batch to discover there’s not enough flour and all the gnocchi dissolve into a terrible mush when you cook them. Rough recipe is below.

Steam 4 washed, unpeeled medium-sized sebago potatoes (usually the dirty ones at the shop) in a metal steamer till they are soft all the way through (this can take 30-40 mins). While they are piping hot peel their skins off and put them through a potato ricer onto a clean bench. Sprinkle 1 cup of 00 flour on top, 1 beaten egg and a good pinch of salt. Slowly bring it together trying not to work the dough too much but just enough to make sure it’s all combined and staying that way, adding more flour if you need it. At this point do a tester in your boiling water, once it’s floating to the top it’s ready to try. If it’s falling apart a little, add some more flour to the dough and test again till it’s held together and a silky, carby cloud. Divide the dough into four and roll into 2cm logs then cut into 2cm pieces. Cook the gnocchi in two batches and add them to a large bowl with the pesto with ½ cup of cooking water. Toss carefully to coat and serve with extra parm, a drizz of oil and chilli flakes. If you’re after a more precise recipe, this one here is pretty similar to what I do.

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