Basil Gnocchi with Pistachio Butter

It's almost the end of basil season and that means it's time to make Basil Gnocchi. Because as much as we love pesto, if I make any more of it I think my family might divorce me.

Basil Gnocchi with Pistachio Butter

adapted from Nicole Stich's  Delicious Days

Serves 4

For the Pistachio Butter:

90g unsalted butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon sea salt flakes

1/4 cup unsalted pistachios, roasted

For the Basil Gnocchi:

1kg floury potatoes (I use Desiree)

30g basil leaves

1 egg yolk

1 egg 

1 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground nutmeg

75- 125g "00" flour, depending on how wet or dry your potatoes are

Make the Pistachio Butter:

Put the roasted pistachios in a food processor and blitz until they are a fine meal. Put the butter, salt and pistachios into a bowl and mix them together well. Set aside.

Make the Gnocchi:

Preheat the oven to 200 C. 

Wash the potatoes, dry them well and prick them with a sharp knife a few times. Put the on a rack in the oven and roast for an hour.

Put the basil leaves, whole egg and egg yolk into a blender and blitz until it is a fine paste. Set aside.

Peel the potatoes and pass them through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Sprinkle them with salt, nutmeg and 75g of the flour (you may need more to form a dough). Bring the mixture together with your hands to form a soft dough. If it is too sticky and hard to handle, add some more flour a little at a time. Don't be tempted to add too much flour, as too much flour with toughen the gnocchi. Add just enough to form a manageable dough.

Dust a work surface and your hands with flour and divide the dough into eight small portions. Roll each portion out into a long sausage shape about 1cm in diameter. Cut 2cm pieces from the roll. Using a gnocchi paddle or the tines of a fork, roll the gnocchi along it, using your thumb for pressure. You should end up with a dumpling that has ridges on one side and an indentation on the other. Don't worry if they're not perfect, they're not meant to be. Place the gnocchi on a floured tray.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. 

Put the Pistachio Butter into a large wide pan and gently heat it over a low flame until it melts.

Carefully lower the gnocchi into the boiling water. Cook them in batches, removing them when they float to the surface and immediately placing them into the melted Pistachio Butter. Continue cooking the gnocchi until they are all in the tub together, being coated with Pistachio Butter. Doesn't that sound delicious?