The other day, I was driving home from school with my 15-year-old son when he asked the question I hear just about every afternoon.
"What's for dinner?"
I didn't really have anything planned, so I asked him what he wanted.
There was a pause, and then he came back with something I definitely wasn't expecting.
"What kind of pasta goes with pesto? Can you do a pesto?"
At first, I was a little incredulous.
Can I make a pesto?
Come on. Have a little faith in me.
But then I got past the challenge to my culinary abilities and realized something far more important.
My 15-year-old son just requested pesto for dinner.
That's awesome.
I've really gotten into making fresh pasta lately, but I haven't tried my hand at gnocchi yet. In due time. Fortunately, we had some gnocchi from Wildgrain in the freezer. I've mentioned their bread and croissants here before, and their gnocchi is every bit as good. If you haven't tried them, give them a test drive.
So I pulled out the gnocchi, made a fresh pesto, and dinner was underway.
It turned out wonderfully. The gnocchi was incredibly soft, and the pesto coated every piece. I think one little trick made a big difference. After making the pesto, I poured it into a skillet and used some of the starchy pasta water to rinse all the remaining pesto out of the blender and into the pan. I warmed everything just slightly, then transferred the gnocchi straight from the water into the pesto.
That little bit of starchy water helped the pesto cling to the gnocchi instead of simply pooling at the bottom of the pan.
And perhaps most importantly, the 15-year-old who requested pesto in the first place approved.
I'll take that as a win.
Ingredients
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2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
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½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
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⅓ cup pine nuts
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2–3 garlic cloves, minced
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½ cup extra virgin olive oil
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Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
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Optional squeeze of fresh lemon juice
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Gnocchi
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Reserved pasta water
Instructions
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Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Let cool.
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Add the basil, Parmesan, toasted pine nuts, and garlic to a food processor or blender. Pulse until finely chopped.
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With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto is smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
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Season with salt and pepper. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if you'd like a little brightness, then pulse briefly to combine.
Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions, making sure to reserve some of the cooking water before draining.
Pour the pesto into a skillet. Add a splash of the hot pasta water to the blender, give it a quick swirl to grab all the pesto left behind, and pour that into the skillet as well.
Warm the pesto gently over low heat. Don't cook it hard—you just want to bring everything together.
Transfer the cooked gnocchi directly into the skillet and gently toss until every piece is coated, adding another splash of pasta water if needed.
Finish with a little extra Parmesan and serve immediately.
A Few Notes
The starchy pasta water is important. It loosens the pesto while helping it cling to the gnocchi.
Toast the pine nuts. It only takes a couple of minutes and brings out much more flavor.
Keep the heat low once the pesto hits the pan. You're warming it, not frying it.
And apparently, if your 15-year-old asks, yes, you can do a pesto.
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