Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Basil Pesto and Gnocchi

I know awhile back when someone mentioned making pesto i thought that stuff just looks gross. The more I thought about it and thought about checking it out .... I loved the ingredients that went in. I just couldn't justify pureeing them all together! But baby let me tell you when I did....it was so fantastic that it will  (to quote a friend of mine) "make your tongue slap your brain out".
 Ingredients: 
2 cloves of garlic
a little less than 1/4 of a cup of pine nuts
a little less than 1/4 of a cup of walnuts
3 loosely packed cups of basil leaves
1/2 cup of fresh Parmesan cheese shredded
1/4 cup of Parmesan Reggiano (if you can get your hands on this stuff it adds such a rich buttery flavor)
salt and pepper
a good bit of olive oil (1/4 to possibly 1/2 of cup)
and a food processor
1 package of potato Gnocchi ( I buy the market pantry brand at Target)
Now into the food processor goes the pine nuts and walnuts and the peeled cloves of garlic. pulse them a little bit then add your basil leaves and Parmesan cheeses and  pulse them in too. now through the feeder tube pour the olive oil in  a slow steady stream and watch the mixture to get thick and soupy.add a little salt and pepper and taste....... and its done! Follow the direction for boiling the Gnocchi and make sure you salt your boiling water! then drain your Gnocchi and pour about 3/4 of a cup of the pesto sauce over the warm gnocchi!
This stuff was amazing but the more I think about it....i think it would be good on so many things from chicken to just a crispy warm slice of a baguette. hmmm. Me and pesto are now BFFs!

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