Gnocchi con pesto trapanese - tomato-almond pesto paired with a St. Joseph Blanc

I love making gnocchi.  Fresh pasta so often come out differently than I planned or worse that I hoped it would be, and there just isn't that hands on feel that you get when making gnocchi.  Many people have a stilted view that gnocchi is difficult to make or time consuming to prepare, but in fact, while it is not exactly a speedy dinner, it can take about 1 hour and very little actual work.

The sauce I prepared with this is a Sicilian version of a Northern Italian sauce, pesto.  When most non-Italians use the term "pesto", they mean pesto alla ligure or pesto from Liguria, a coastal region in Northern Italy.  I have a previous post with more background on this style, and while I think it would work well with this dish, I wanted something a bit lighter, a bit fresher, and a bit easier to pair with wines I had easily available at home.

The gnocchi came out light and airy, not dense, and the sauce was bright, fresh and full of flavor with out all the cheese and oil.

The wine I chose a 2004 Francois Villard St Joseph Blanc Mairlant 13% ABV - This wine is from the Northern Rhone Appellation of St. Joseph, just across the river from Valence, the largest city in the area.  The majority of wines produced in this area are Syrah, but most producers also have some white production.  The only two grapes allowed are Marsanne and Rousanne.  Both of these grapes can be highly acidic if picked too early, or flabby and alcoholic if picked late, so they must be managed carefully.  This bottle was nutty and waxy, with a nice acidity and mineral streak.  These flavors married well with the nuttiness of the sauce and brightened it up with the acids.


Recipe: Potato Gnocchi

2 Large Idaho Potatoes of similar size, about 1 1/2 lbs
1 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon kosher salt (less if using table salt)

Boil potatoes whole until easily pierced by fork.  Remove and as soon as you can, peel them.  Press through potato ricer onto sheet pan or large work surface and sprinkle salt over.  Allow to cool and dry as long as possible.  Add lightly beaten eggs.  Add flour a small amount at a time, until incorporated and it the dough is smooth and not too sticky.  Roll into long ropes about 3/4-1 inch thick.  Cut into 1/2 inch size pieces and if you wish, roll over the downward turned side of a fork with your thumb to create the traditional shape.

Recipe: Pesto trapanese

1 1/2 cups of ripe cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup of blanched, slivered almonds, lightly toasted
1 bunch of basil
1 small spoonfull of drained capers
small pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
3.5 oz or 100 g of Parmigiano-Reggiano 
2 cloves of garlic
salt, pepper

Using a food processor, process tomatoes, basil, garlic, capers, red pepper and almonds to a smooth paste.  Add cheese.  Slowly, incoporate the oil into the paste, using as much or as little as you like.  Taste for salt and pepper and add as needed.