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Gnocchi with Pesto alla Genovese
We were taught to make pesto alla Genovese in its birthplace—Genoa, Italy, by chef Roberto Panizza. It traditionally is made in a mortar and pestle; we use a food processor for convenience but follow the tradition of processing ingredients separately to ensure we preserve the appropriate texture of each. Seek out true Italian Parmesan cheese, as well as pecorino Sardo, a sheep’s milk cheese from Sardinia. If you can’t find pecorino Sardo, the best substitute is manchego, a Spanish sheep’s milk cheese. We’ve paired the pesto with gnocchi, a classic combination; either potato gnocchi, “instant” gnocchi made with potato flakes, gnocchi di farina or even store-bought gnocchi will do well, but the gnocchi must be just-cooked and warm because it will not be heated during the saucing process. If pasta is your preference, the recipe makes enough pesto to sauce 12 ounces of uncooked pasta. Be sure to reserve some of the starchy cooking water before draining, and add just enough of it while tossing the pesto and pasta so the noodles are nicely sauced.
4 to 6
Servings
Tip
Don't toast the pine nuts. In Italy, the pine nuts for pesto are used raw. Don't be tempted to add all the ingredients at once to the food processor. Adding them in stages ensures the pesto has the correct consistency and texture, and that it won't end up thin and watery, the result of overprocessing.
30 minutes
Ingredients
-
1¾
ounces Parmesan cheese (without rind), chopped into rough 1-inch pieces
-
1
ounce pecorino Sardo cheese (without rind), chopped into rough 1-inch pieces (see headnote)
Directions
-
01In a food processor, process both cheeses until broken into rough marble-sized pieces, about 10 seconds, then pulse until they have the texture of coarse sand, 5 to 10 pulses, scraping the bowl as needed. Transfer to a small bowl.
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May 17, 2023
Best Pesto
Never was fond of pesto. Knew that I should like it. Wanted to like it, but it always just seemed a little too harsh or unbalanced with one ingredient or another dominating. This is perfectly balanced. You can taste each ingredient and they all come together to make for a delicious meal. Haven't tried it on Gnocchi yet. We originally found this recipe as a pasta dish from Milk Street.
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