Ricotta gnocchi is a little bit of heaven, but by itself it can be a little dull. So sometimes you need to liven up the gnocchi party with sauce. One of my favorite sauces is pesto. So it’s a natural marriage for pesto and gnocchi to go together.
I’ve touched on the delicious power of Ricotta Gnocchi in the past and where it gets its name from. Remember the trick to making good gnocchi is using high quality ricotta cheese. For the pesto, you can use lots of different kinds herbs and nuts to make tasty creations. You can use my standard pesto recipe or my delicious pistachio pesto. Both are yum central.
Recipe – Pesto Ricotta Gnocchi
Ingredients
16 oz. Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
2 Slices of Good Quality White Sandwich Bread (1/2 Cup)
1 Large Egg
2 Tablespoons of Fresh Minced Basil
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
6 Tablespoons of Flour
1 /2 Cup Grated Parmesan
Sauce
Method
Step 1 – Strain the ricotta, if you buy good quality Italian ricotta you might not have any liquid. The cheese from Fierro’s doesn’t. If it does, strain it in a fine mesh strainer.
Step 2- Transfer to a bowl.
Step 3- Pulse bread in a food processor, then spread crumbs on a baking sheet, bake until golden brown.
Step 4 – Mix ricotta and breadcrumbs together in a food processor until you have a fine mixture.
Step 5 – Transfer to a bowl, then add your eggs, basil, and Parmesan to the ricotta pile.
Step 6- Mix together until it’s consistent, then refrigerate for 15 minutes. The dough needs be moist but not so moist that it essentially falls apart in your hands.
Step 7 – On a floured surface, portion out the dough into lemon sized pieces.
Step 8 – Roll them out 3/4 inch thick ropes and cut them into 3/4 inch lengths.
Step 9 – Transfer all the pieces to a piece of parchment paper.
Step 10- Make your pesto (I always freeze some so I have a bunch ready on hand)
Step 11- Prepare your gnocchi, bring a large pot of water to boil. Once it boils reduce the heat so it simmers. Now gently place the gnocchi into the water. The gnocchi is cooked once it floats, about 2 minutes.
Step 12- Once the gnocchi’s are cooked scoop them out with a slotted spoon and serve with your sauce. Enjoy!!
- 16 oz. Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
- 2 Slices of Good Quality White Sandwich Bread (1/2 Cup)
- 1 Large Egg
- 2 Tablespoons of Fresh Minced Basil
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 6 Tablespoons of Flour
- 1 /2 Cup Grated Parmesan
- Sauce
- Pesto
- Pistachio Pesto
- Step 1 – Strain the ricotta, if you buy good quality Italian ricotta you might not have any liquid. The cheese from Fierro’s doesn’t. If it does, strain it in a fine mesh strainer.
- Step 2- Transfer to a bowl.
- Step 3- Pulse bread in a food processor, then spread crumbs on a baking sheet, bake until golden brown.
- Step 4 – Mix ricotta and breadcrumbs together in a food processor until you have a fine mixture.
- Step 5 – Transfer to a bowl, then add your eggs, basil, and Parmesan to the ricotta pile.
- Step 6- Mix together until it’s consistent, then refrigerate for 15 minutes. The dough needs be moist but not so moist that it essentially falls apart in your hands.
- Step 7 – On a floured surface, portion out the dough into lemon sized pieces.
- Step 8 – Roll them out 3/4 inch thick ropes and cut them into 3/4 inch lengths.
- Step 9 – Transfer all the pieces to a piece of parchment paper.
- Step 10- Make your pesto (I always freeze some so I have a bunch ready on hand)
- Step 11- Prepare your gnocchi, bring a large pot of water to boil. Once it boils reduce the heat so it simmers. Now gently place the gnocchi into the water. The gnocchi is cooked once it floats, about 2 minutes.
- Step 12- Once the gnocchi’s are cooked scoop them out with a slotted spoon and serve with your sauce. Enjoy!!
