Homemade basil pesto

Basil Pesto

If you have never tried to make your own pesto, you are missing out.  I highly recommend giving it a try as it is easy to do and doesn't take any time either.  Plus, you can use a variety of different herbs to change up the flavor and it makes a lot more than you can buy in the store.  The first pesto I made was one from Italian Immigrant Cooking by Elodia Rigante.  Once I realized how easy it was to make though, I now put in basically whatever I am feeling that day or what I have on hand.

Basil Pesto

1/2 cup basil (or whatever herb mixture you want to try)

3 tablespoons pine nuts (toasted)

2-4 tablespoons Parmesan or Romano cheese, finely shredded

6 cloves garlic, peeled

3/4 cup olive oil (more if you like it thinner)

1 tablespoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredient in a blender until smooth.  Serve over pasta or gnocchi of choice.  Or you can try my ricotta gnocchi.  You can easily double this recipe.

Ricotta Gnocchi

One of the things I have been experimenting in this year is cooking more Italian food.  So this lead me to find a lovely Italian immigrant cookbook with tasty recipes which are easy to make, other than sometimes being time-consuming.  This was my second attempt at the ricotta gnocchi and both time it turned out lovely.  Added to that the pesto made from my own basil and you have a simple, yet filling dinner.  The book this recipe came from is called Italian Immigrant Cooking by Elodia Rigante.  Unfortunately, it is no longer published, but you can find it in the used book stores.

Ricotta Gnocchi

1 pound freshly made Ricotta cheese

1 egg

2 cups flour (maybe a little more if your ricotta is really wet)

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta and the egg.  Add the salt and pepper.  Gradually add the flour.  Knead on a floured counter.  Roll into finger-sized logs and then cut into equal length pieces (mine are usually about 3/4 inch each).

To cook: bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the gnocchi and stir to be sure they don't stick.  Cook for about 10 minutes or until the gnocchi is floating.  You can serve immediately with whatever sauce you like or just some grated Parmesan cheese.  The above photo is made with homemade pesto.

These freeze well.  Or if you prefer to cook them all and not eat them all, you can reheat them in the oven with some Parmesan cheese grated over them.