Little bite-sized, velvety pillows of fluffy clouds they were! Mr Nik is now my No. 1 gnocchi fan (^_^). Will definitely need to do this again for friends, but next time, I'll add some pancetta for a little more complexity to the flavours.
Gnocchi Ingredients:
- 200g Philadelphia cream cheese
- 1 egg yolk (M-L) or 2 small yolks
- 1 generous pinch of sea salt
- 1 handful of freshly grated Parmesan [Pecorino]
- 50-75g all-purpose flour, extra for dusting the dough/board
- serve with tomato sauce or any kind of pesto
- 1 egg yolk (M-L) or 2 small yolks
- 1 generous pinch of sea salt
- 1 handful of freshly grated Parmesan [Pecorino]
- 50-75g all-purpose flour, extra for dusting the dough/board
- serve with tomato sauce or any kind of pesto
Pesto Ingredients:
- 1 Basil plant
- 1 small handful of freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 handful of spinach leaves
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- 1 large teaspoon of Mr Nik's homemade tomato & onion chutney [Recipe for another time]
Pesto:
1. Throw all pesto ingredients into blender and blitz this into a desired consistency before making the gnocchi.
Gnocchi:
1. Mix the cream cheese with egg yolk[s], salt and parmesan in a large bowl.
2. Slowly stir in flour to the mix until combined. [NB the more flour, the more dense the gnocchi will become]
3. To form the gnocchi, generously flour the board. Dollop a large tbsp of the dough on to the board and dust with more flour. You'll be surprised to feel how amazingly light and soft this dough is!
4. Roll into finger-thick roll and cut into little pillows.
5. Plop into pan of salted, boiling water for 2-5mins. Or until they all float to the surface.
6. Skim them out and serve immediately with the homemade pesto, peas and pancetta.
Ta-da!
They really needed the peas for a little extra texture. Next time, I'll chuck in a bit of pancetta as well.
And that's it. Big thanks to Delicious Days for the inspiration. You rock!
