Let’s prepare together the gnocchi stuffed with Genoese pesto, an easy recipe with great impact, which pairs well with simple sauces. We will use mountain potatoes and flour as usual, but instead of the usual pesto gnocchi, this time you can prepare gnocchi by placing the Genoese pesto in the center, and choose to season this delicious first course with walnut sauce, pine nut sauce, or butter and sage. I’ll also suggest a tasty variation with gorgonzola and pumpkin cream.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, All seasons
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs potatoes (mountain)
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg (optional)
- 3.5 oz Genoese pesto (approximately)
- 3.5 oz delica pumpkin (only baked pulp)
- 3.5 oz gorgonzola (spicy)
Tools
To prepare stuffed gnocchi, you need a potato ricer that will greatly facilitate the work, allowing you to cook the potatoes with the skin and not have to peel them while still hot before mashing them. With the same tool, using the disc with large holes, you can prepare passatelli in broth and spinach spätzle. I also boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker to speed up the preparation time.
As I always say, nothing is indispensable, and you can pass the potatoes through a vegetable mill after peeling them, or even use a fork. Finally, you can easily boil the potatoes in a pot with a lid for twenty minutes.
- 1 Potato Ricer
- 1 Pressure Cooker Lagostina
Let’s Cook
Boil the potatoes with the skin after washing them thoroughly; choose dry and firm mountain potatoes, preferably all about the same size. If you use a pressure cooker, ten minutes from the start of the whistle is enough; otherwise, it will take twice the time.
Drain the potatoes and mash them with the potato ricer directly on the work surface, spread them slightly, and wait for them to cool. Then, when they no longer steam, knead with the flour, adding it little by little until you get a soft and dry dough. If you’re not confident, add an egg to the potatoes first, and knead with the flour: you might need to use more because the egg is liquid. Adding an egg guarantees success because the gnocchi will not fall apart during cooking, but it makes them denser and consequently less tender and soft.
Form dough cords on the floured work surface, and cut a piece that is about double what you would cut to form a normal gnocchi. Flatten it in your left hand to form a disc of uniform thickness. Place a teaspoon of Genoese pesto, or a teaspoon of roasted pumpkin mashed, and a small cube of spicy gorgonzola in the center. Close, using your right hand, until forming a well-sealed and floured sphere. Pay attention to how you close it, do it carefully and patiently, or your stuffed gnocchi will open during cooking.
Drop the gnocchi a few at a time into salted boiling water, and scoop them out with a slotted spoon as soon as they float to the top.
Season to taste with a simple and light sauce.
The Secrets of the Queen
• I never add egg to gnocchi because I like them very soft. However, you need to trust the potatoes, and it took me many tries to find the right ones.
• I recommend mountain potatoes:
near Genoa, the Quarantine Potatoes
are perfect, according to me, also the Sila Potatoes
and those from Leonessa with which I made the gnocchi with tomato and crispy guanciale, using very little flour.
• Stuffed gnocchi are also delicious when filled with a mixture of green beans, ricotta, and Parmesan or pecorino, and seasoned with Genoese pesto.
• You can season both the pesto-stuffed gnocchi and those with pumpkin and gorgonzola with butter and sage or with the pesto itself. But I recommend the walnut sauce and the pine nut sauce, which are prepared in the same way, replacing -it’s obvious- walnuts with pine nuts.
• Remember to use a fluid sauce for seasoning. If you choose walnut or pine nut sauce, keep the warm milk leftover from the squeezed crumb, and once the preparation is finished, use what is needed to make the sauce the right consistency. BUT, please, do not add cream to Ligurian sauces.
Walnut Sauce of the Ligurian Riviera
Walnut Sauce of the Ligurian Riviera
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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Are stuffed gnocchi difficult to prepare?
No, they are simple. You just need to pay attention to sealing them carefully
How long do stuffed gnocchi cook?
A few minutes, the time it takes for them to float to the top, like other gnocchi
How are stuffed gnocchi seasoned?
Choose the seasoning according to the filling, but I recommend simple sauces to not overshadow the filling
