The first thing I have to say before I begin is don’t be put off by the idea of homemade gnocchi – it’s incredibly quick and easy and tastes delicious. I came across the coriander pesto a few years ago in The Cranks Bible and it’s been a staple in our house ever since. I have altered it slightly as the original recipe states 6 cloves of garlic which I found a bit overpowering to say the least.

It’s the kind of recipe you can play around with though and alter to suit your taste. The only tedious part is removing the leaves from the coriander and you have to make sure that no stem gets into the pesto as it makes it really stringy. You can omit the chilli if you prefer and I usually forget to buy limes and so use lemon juice instead which works fine. Jude, my two year old, adores this dish.

Homemade Gnocchi with Coriander Pesto (serves 4)

Ingredients:

For the gnocchi:
500g potatoes
200g flour
Salt and pepper

For the pesto:
1 large much of coriander (about 6 ounces)
2 tbsp almonds
2 garlic cloves
4 tsp light olive oil
Juice of one lime
Dash of Tabasco
½ inch of red chilli chopped very small
Sea salt
Parmesan for serving

Method:

For the pesto simply pound the garlic and almonds with a pestle and mortar then add the chopped coriander leaves and all the other ingredients and pound until you have the desired texture.
For the gnocchi, peel and boil the potatoes until tender then mash well, adding the flour and seasoning.
Knead the mixture for a couple of minutes then roll it out into two long sausages, about ½ and inch thick. Cut the sausages into segments of about 1 inch long and plonk them all into boiling water until they rise to the top (about two minutes).
When draining the gnocchi save a little of the cooking water as this helps the pesto to spread over the gnocchi more easily.
Sprinkle with parmesan and eat.

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Tags: cooking, gnocchi, pesto