Gnocchi with Zucchini Pesto

Gnocchi with zucchini pesto are a delicious dish and a summer variant of the classic Genoese pesto. Here is the recipe to prepare this dish.

Ingredients

• 500 g potato gnocchi
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 garlic clove
• 30 g pine nuts
• 50 g grated Parmesan
• A few fresh basil leaves
• A handful of fresh parsley
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation

1. Wash the zucchini, cut them into thin rounds and then cook them in a pan with a drizzle of oil and a garlic clove for about 10-15 minutes. Lightly salt them and pepper to taste.

2. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a pan over low heat until golden. Keep an eye on them constantly as they can burn easily.

3. In a food processor, add the cooked zucchini (removing the garlic clove), toasted pine nuts, parsley, basil, and Parmesan. Blend everything, adding extra virgin olive oil until you achieve a creamy and homogeneous consistency. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

4. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the gnocchi following the package instructions, or until they rise to the surface, which is the signal that they are ready.

5. Drain the gnocchi and mix them with the zucchini pesto in a large bowl or directly in the pan where you cooked the zucchini.

6. Plate the gnocchi and, if desired, you can add a sprinkle of grated Parmesan or pecorino and a few fresh basil leaves for decoration.

Fun Facts

Zucchini pesto is a lighter and more delicate variant of the classic Genoese pesto. In Italy, it is quite common to use seasonal vegetables to create sauces and dressings for pasta. This type of pesto stands out particularly in the summer period, when zucchini are at the peak of their flavor.