Gnocchi with Garlic Scape Pesto

Gnocchi Dough Prep

Wash and peel the potatoes. Weigh them after peeling and multiply by 0.25 to detemine how much flour to use later. You're aiming for a 4:1 ratio. For example, 845 grams uncooked potato x 0.25 = 211 grams flour, but this doesn't have to be precise.

Cut the potatoes in large similarly-sized pieces and boil them in salted water until fork tender. Lift the cooked potatoes out with a slotted spoon and place them in a colander. Do not strain out the water; you'll use it to blanch the scapes and boil the gnocchi.

If you are making the garlic scape pesto, immerse the scapes in the hot water now for 20-30 seconds. Take a nibble of a blanched scape to assess the garlic potency for your final pesto. The longer they cook the milder the flavor.

When the potatoes are just cool enough to be handled, rice them into a large bowl. You can use the medium drum of the Ankarsrum mixer grater and shredder attachment, a manual potato ricer, or press the cooked potatoes through the holes of a colander. Leave uncovered for a few minutes to let water continue to evaporate off the potatoes.

Add the flour to the riced potato, cutting and folding it in with a dough scraper or spatula. Knead the dough very briefly just until it comes together.

Lightly flour your work surface, cut off a chunk of the dough and roll it into a tube about the diameter of your thumb.

Cut the tube in pieces about 3/4" long. They can be left as is, or you can create ridges in the gnocchi with a fork or a gnocchi paddle. Use your thumb to gently roll the gnocchi down the ridges.

Work through all the dough, using a bench knife to transfer the gnocchi to a floured baking sheet.

Set the sheet aside while you make the garlic scape pesto or another sauce.

Garlic Scape Pesto

If you haven't already done so, cut the garlic scapes in thirds and blanch for 20-30 seconds to make them less intense. Check the flavor and leave them in the water longer if they're still to strong. If you went too far, and they're too mild, you can add an unblanched scape to the mix or a clove of garlic.

Cut the scapes into smaller pieces and add all the pesto ingredients to the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the desired smoothness is reached.

Extra pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week and then frozen.

Cooking and Serving

If you want to cook the gnocchi ahead, prepare an ice bath for them. Otherwise serve after removing from the water.

Bring the potato water back up to a boil, adding more water to the pan if needed.

Prepare a large serving bowl with some pesto already in it.

When the water is boiling, add the gnocchi and boil for 1-3 minutes until they float. Remove the gnocchi from the water with a slotted spoon or by pouring into a colander. Transfer the gnocchi to the pesto bowl, add a splash of the pasta water, mix, and serve.

For serving later, place the cooked gnocchi in an ice bath for twenty seconds, transfer to a colander, and once drained, transfer to a bowl with some oil and set aside until you're ready to reheat in a saute pan.

Extra gnocchi can be left on the floured baking sheet and frozen overnight. Move the frozen gnocchi to a bag or sealed container the next day.