Gnocchi Di Patate Con Salsa Di Noci
By: Frank Fariello
Published: Saturday, December 5, 2009 - 2:15am

Ingredients




200 walnuts
1 clove garlic
1 handful parsley leaves
1 pinch salt
1 pinch cracked black pepper
1 dinner roll or slice of bread, crust removed
1 cup milk
olive oil
grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Greek yogurt
cream or half and half

Preparation

1 Put 200g of walnuts, a clove of garlic a handful of parsley, a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper in a food processor. Process until you have a rough paste. Then add a dinner roll or thick slice of bread, with the crust removed, soaked in milk and squeezed dry, olive oil, grated parmesan cheese and (if you have some on hand) a tablespoon of Greek yogurt. Start processing and, as the you process, add either milk, cream or 'half-and-half' through the funnel until the mixture forms a fairly smooth sauce. 2 Take your gnocchi (see recipe for homemade potato gnocchi or just use store-bought) and boil them in well salted water until they come to the surface of the water. Transfer them from the water with a slotted spoon into a large bowl, add a generous dollop of the walnut sauce, some more grated cheese and, if you like--although some sources call it heresy--a nut of butter. Mix gently with a spatula, adding a bit of the pasta water to thin out the sauce if need be. Serve immediately with additional grated cheese for those who want it.

About


Everyone knows about gnocchi with pesto sauce. But have you tried another, less known raw sauce from Liguria: salsa di noci or walnut sauce? Lookswise, this dish may not be particularly spectacular--it's rather pale and wan, in fact--but the taste is really something special.
See blog post from "Memorie di Angelina" for the full recipe with tips and tricks!