Gnocchi with Basil Pesto

Ingredients

• 1 kg waxy potatoes
• 3 tbsp pine nuts (15 g each)
• 1 Garlic clove
• 1 bunch basil (20 g)
• 75 ml olive oil
• 100 g parmesan (32% fat in the rind)
• Salt
• nutmeg
• 100 g potato starch
• 1 egg
• 75 g spelt whole‑grain flour

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the potatoes for the gnocchi, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C (convection 160 °C; gas: level 2–3) for about 50 minutes.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile, roast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 3–4 minutes and set aside. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Wash the basil, pat it dry, and pluck the leaves. Set aside some basil for garnish; combine the rest with 2 tbsp pine nuts, garlic, and oil in a tall jar. Grate about 20 g parmesan finely, add it, and blend everything with an immersion blender until smooth. Season the basil pesto with salt.

3. 3.

   Let the potatoes cool for about 5 minutes, peel them, and press them while still warm through a potato ricer into a bowl. Mix in salt, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, starch, egg, and flour. Grate 50 g parmesan finely, add it, and quickly knead everything into a gnocchi dough.

4. 4.

   Shape the dough into thumb‑wide rolls, flatten slightly, and cut into pieces about 2 cm wide. Shape each piece in your hand to be slightly oval and press a small indentation in the center. Boil the gnocchi in a large pot of salted water over low heat for about 5 minutes until they rise to the surface.

5. 5.

   Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon, toss them with pesto, and serve in deep bowls. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan finely on top, scatter the leftover pine nuts, garnish with basil, and enjoy your gnocchi with basil pesto.