Crispy Gnocchi with Pesto and Tomatoes
This has been one of my favorite recipes for as long as I can remember. I used to work at this amazing restaurant in Sacramento called Onespeed, and they had a similar dish on their menu. I loved it so much I would order it again and again, and one Sunday when we were closed I came in and the chef taught me exactly how to make it. Now, I’m too lazy to make gnocchi from scratch normally, but I’ll never forget the chef telling me the most important part of the recipe was making sure you made it with lots of love, and treated the gnocchi tenderly and with care. So satisfying, with all of the most amazing textures and flavors and colors.
1 package gnocchi (I purchase mine from Mercadona here in Spain, which is vegan! If you can make your own gnocchi more power to you! Maybe one day I’ll make my own again…)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1-2 cups vegan pesto sauce, depending on if you like your pasta saucy or not-saucy
EVOO
Optional toppings: vegan parmesan, regular parmesan, chili flakes, sliced basil
1). Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. ( I generally add 1-2 tablespoons of salt to my water)
2). Once your water is boiling, on another burner heat about 3-4 tablespoons of EVOO over medium high heat in a very large and flat sauté pan (You want this to get hot while you’re boiling your gnocchi).
3). Toss gnocchi into the boiling water, stirring occasionally. As soon as they start to float to the top of the water, drain well and then toss into the pre-heated sauté pan with oil. (I generally use a slotted spoon to drain the gnocchi and then transfer them to the sauté pan. You can also use a colander, just be careful that the gnocchi don’t stick together).
4). Let the gnocchi sizzle and sear, about 4-5 minutes, then give them a good flip/toss to start searing the other side. I then add another 2 tablespoons of oil or so to make sure the gnocchi get nice and seared and crispy.
5). Once the gnocchi are good and sizzlin’ and seared, remove them from the pan and toss into a bowl for serving. Quickly add the halved tomatoes into the hot pan to start cooking them. Add a little bit more EVOO if needed.
6). While the tomatoes are cooking, drizzle the pesto sauce over the hot gnocchi. I tend to do a thin layer drizzled over top so the gnocchi warms up the sauce a bit. Let that sit and give the tomatoes a flip/toss in the pan, and let cook a minute or two longer.
7). Remove the tomaotes from the pan and add them directly to the top of the pesto sauce. That’s it! I like to top mine with some sea salt flakes, black pepper, chili flakes and some vegan parmesan. YUM! Honestly one of my very favorite meals and involves minimal effort. (Well except if you make the pesto from scratch and the gnocchi from scratch that involves some effort haha)
**My friend Katie from AlwaysOlives recently told me she skips the boiling of the gnocchi and goes straight to sautéing them. I’ll have to give that a try next time!
