Pan-fried gnocchi with pesto
Growing up and in my early 20s, I was not a pasta person. I tended to shy away from it, thinking it was too “carby.” Once I started training for half marathons, I would ~allow~ myself to have pasta when I was carbo-loading.
These days, I follow zero food rules, and I encourage my clients to do the same. And while I’m not making pasta every night of the week, it’s certainly in my regular dinner rotation. I’ve grown particularly fond of gnocchi, the store-bought version nonetheless! (I know some purists might not consider gnocchi pasta, as it’s potato-based, but to me, it’s pasta.) Skip the boiling step and go right to the pan-frying for a crispy, hearty, comforting meal. Add protein or veggies to round it out, if you like.
Ingredients
2 oz basil
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for frying
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp pine nuts
Salt + pepper, to taste
1 package store-bought gnocchi
Red pepper flakes, optional
Directions
To make the pesto: combine first 7 ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium high heat. When hot, add the gnocchi and let it brown on one side, 2-3 minutes. Flip gnocchi and let cook another 2 minutes.
Turn off heat and add pesto. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes.