Gnocchi with Pesto

While the Autumn Equinox usually marks the start of Fall in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the colours in the hills are already starting to fade here in the Yukon, and winter is not far off. There is still plenty of life in the market as the hearty fall crops will continue to dominate the produce shelves for weeks.

To use up some basil I picked up at the last farmer's market of the season, and to embrace the Yukon grown potatoes that are still piled up in the grocery stores, I'm continuing my inquest for the perfect flour substitute by making gluten free gnocchi with pesto.

This isn't exactly a quick one, but invite a friend over, pour some wine, make it an event. The gnocchi and pesto can be frozen and cooked in under 10 minutes at a later time, and you will have plenty of both left over.

Pesto (top right) beside the morels we used.

Basil Pesto

Ingredients

2 cups basil
1/3 cup walnuts
1/2 cup parmesan
4-5 cloves of garlic
A good glog of good quality olive oil.

Directions

Nothing complicated here. Just combine all ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor and pulse a few times on high. Form the paste into palm sized portions. One should be plenty for 2 people. Poor a good glog of olive oil onto the pesto before tossing your favourite pasta through it in a sauce pan on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

Gnocchi (gluten free)

Gnocchi log (top left) and kneaded
vs. un-kneaded dough (bottom right)

Ingredients

large rustic potatoes x 2
1 egg, whisked
1/4 cup cream
2 cups tapioca flour

Directions

Boil the potatoes whole and in their skin until tender (approx. 30-40 minutes). Peel skin once cool and run them through a food mill if you have one. If you don't like me (yet), you have some work ahead of you to make sure they are crushed, squashed and smashed into a very fine grade.

Whisk the egg and add to the potatoes along with the cream. Fold the potatoes into the cream and egg until the mixture is smooth. A little at a time, start folding the tapioca flour into the potato mixture and form a dough as if you are making pasta: Kneed it until you end up with a nice dough that doesn't crack when folded over.

Hard to explain the shape I'm going for here.
Think mini play-dough tacos. I dunno...

Roll the dough out into logs and cut into small sizes - they will expand a little once cooked in boiling water.

At this point, you could probably cook them just fine as is in salted boiling water for 2 minutes however  if you like your gnocchi fluffy, you can press them gently with a fork against your fingers and fold them gently inwards - but not fully.

Drop a handfull/person into salted boiling water and allow to cook until they float to the top. Much more than that and they will be soggy and spongy instead of light and fluffy. Immediately drain and transfer to your favorite sauce. If you don't have one, some butter with a bit of garlic, salt, pepper and some parmesan grated over top is all you need.

I was killing two birds with one stone here and wanted to use up some ingredients I had in my pantry so I tossed them in the pesto I made: some died morels (soaked in water for ~40 minutes and cleaned off dirt and stones), some sauteed chicken and a splash of cream. I blistered some grape tomatoes in the oven (400 F for ~10 minutes with some oil and salt over top) and of course, topped it off with some grated parmesan.