Asparagus Lemon Gnocchi with Tomato Pesto
Gnocchi is such a simple dish to make, I just had to spice it up with lemon and asparagus. Served with a tomato pesto sauce, this meal is delicious!
Prep time: 15 min; Total time: 15 min
Instructions
- 1 1/2 medium potatoes
- 3 spears asparagus
- 1 tbsp. lemon zest
- 1/2 c. flour (or as needed)
- 1/2 c. tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp. pesto sauce
Thoroughly cook potatoes and asparagus. Some people would bake them - I nuke them. An asparagus spear takes about a minute or less in the microwave to cook. For the potatoes, make several holes in each potato with a fork, wrap them in a tea towel, and microwave them for about five minutes. Remove them from the microwave and test if they are soft enough. If you can stick a fork in them, they are soft enough.
Grate the asparagus very finely. I recommend using a food processor. If you can accomplish it, you should end up with asparagus mush. Grate and add the lemon zest
Once the potatoes are out of the microwave, cut each potato in half when they are cool enough to touch. Scoop the middle out of the potatoes, leaving the skins. At this point you can eat the skins if you like - you won't need them for your gnocchi.
Begin to bring a saucepan of water to a boil.
Mix potatoes, asparagus, and lemon zest in a bowl. Add flour and mix with the potatoes. Your dough should have the consistency of play dough, or perhaps a little bit softer.
On a flat surface roll the dough out until it is the thickness of a roll of nickels. Cut the dough into slices each about 1/2 inch wide. With your thumb, slightly smush each piece of dough on the back of a fork to create small ridges in it.
Once the water boils, add your gnocchi (you may want to do this in batches). Give it a stir to keep the gnocchi from sticking to the pan. When the gnocchi float to the surface of the water, wait about 30 seconds and then scoop them out with a slotted spoon.
Drain off excess water from the gnocchi, add tomato sauce and pesto, and mix thoroughly. Serve.
Serves: 2
Tips
Make this meal healthier by serving it with roasted, diced asparagus mixed in
with the gnocchi and the sauce.
To make a pesto sauce, extra virgin olive oil, basil, minced garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese. After a few minutes, when the garlic begins to smell delicious, remove from the heat. Puree in a blender. If you are vegan, omit the cheese.
Instead of asparagus, you can also use spinach to make your gnocchi. You can also use fresh or dried herbs or sundried tomatoes.
To add color and nutrition to the gnocchi, add about 1 tsp. of spirulina.
Use a microplane to grate the lemon zest. You can also use a cheese grater - but trust me on this one.
If you do not have both tomato sauce and pesto sauce, you can use one or the other.
Provide feedback on this recipe