Gnocchi with Pesto Cream Sauce and Pancetta

So, I really effing love gnocchi. They're little pillows of awesome. Unfortunately, I don't see them on menus all that often out here in LA - probably because there's not a lot of great Italian food in this city (someone - please prove me wrong!). In any case, I have to get my gnocchi fix at home, so here's one of my go-to recipes.

The regular caveat - I usually don't measure when I make this, but this time I did. This is the kind of thing that you really just have to feel as you go because there aren't that many ingredients. For example, different brands of parmesan make different tasting pesto, so you'll want to adjust proportions to your taste. Also, I normally just use however much basil I get out of one bunch and then adjust the other ingredients accordingly. Whatever, you're not morons. You can figure it out. This is how I made it today.

Note - this makes a bit more pesto than you'll need, so I usually just keep the remaining pesto in the fridge and add it to chicken or pasta for another meal. My godmother makes a big batch and freezes it in ice cube trays, and then she can just pop out a cube and add it to soups, sauces, etc. whenever she wants. I only have a mini food processor, so I only make a bit at a time, but if you have a full-sized one, it's worth making a bunch of pesto and freezing it or canning it.






INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch basil (usually yields about a loose cup)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup grated parmesan
3 tbsp pine nuts (or somewhere btw 1/8 cup and 1/4 cup - depends on your taste)
1/4 cup olive oil (give or take)

5 slices pancetta
3/4 cup heavy cream

1 pound gnocchi (or however much comes in the package you buy)
(Note - I much prefer the frozen ones to the boxed dried ones, but either is fine. I used the dried ones today because I had a box in the cabinet.)
Salt for boiling water

Special equipment - food processor


1. Start some water boiling for the gnocchi.

2. Wash and pat dry basil. Pick leaves and discard stems.



3. Give the garlic cloves a quick chop. Add basil, garlic, and about half of the olive oil to the food processor.



4. Pulse until roughly processed. Add parmesan and pine nuts. Pulse while slowly adding remaining olive oil. Consistency will be like wet sand. (Note - I leave the pesto this consistency for this recipe, since we'll be adding cream later. If you want to use the pesto on its own, you'll want to add more olive oil and maybe process a bit longer.)



5. Chop the pancetta - the easiest way is to roll all the slices together into a tube and then slice and chop.



6. On medium-high heat, brown the pancetta in until crispy. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water. (Note - if you want, you can reserve some of the crispy pancetta for garnishing later.)



7. Lower the heat on the skillet to low. Add about 2 heaping tbsp of the pesto to the pan. Add about half of the cream and continue to stir until slightly thickened. Slowly add remaining cream and continue to stir frequently for about 2 minutes.



8. By this time the gnocchi should be ready. Remove them from the water with a spider or slotted spoon and add them to the pesto sauce. Toss to coat.



9. Plate and garnish with chiffonade basil or reserved crispy pancetta.



10. Enjoy the eff out of this stuff.




MEDIA PAIRING

I couldn't decide, so there are 2.

1. Spice Girl Emma Bunton cooking gnocchi and setting things on fire on Gordon Ramsey's "The F Word."



2. This clip from "The Ronnie Johns Half Hour," an Australian sketch comedy show.