As y'all may remember, I made some homemade pesto a couple of weeks ago, and it was so delicious! But, as you may have ALSO noticed, the recipe made a few cups of sauce, and seeing as there is only one of me, I have literally been stuffing pesto in every-single-thing in an effort to use it up. I've mostly been using it plain in pasta, or as a marinade for chicken {which is totally delicious}, but pesto has such a strong, distinctive flavor and after a while, you just get plain sick of it. The other day, I randomly thought of a sauce I always buy for my nanny kiddos, which is a creamy pesto sauce that comes in an instant packet. You just take it home, add some oil and milk to it, mix in the dry spice mix, and you're good! So that got me thinking... why not turn my regular pesto into a creamy pesto, too?
Gnocchi are little potato dumplings, and they are a typical northern Italian food, meant to be warm and cozy to get you through the cold season! Texas winters don't get quite so cold, but these pasta dumplings are such a nostalgic childhood food for me so I sneak them into my diet anyways. The combination of the soft, rich gnocchi and the creamy, cheesy pesto is seriously amazing! It's totally a comforting, wintery, stick-to-your-ribs kinda meal and while you probably shouldn't eat this all the time, well... it's definitely worth indulging sometimes! The creamy pesto "trick" is seriously simple and quick, and you could easily do this for storebought pesto as well! This meal takes a total of maybe 15 minutes, but it's so delicious, comforting, and it can easily rival any Italian restaurant's dish!
gnocchi with creamy pesto sauce
Ingredients
- 1 package dry gnocchi
- ½ cup pesto either homemade or storebought
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, and cook the gnocchi according to package directions. Don't forget to salt the water!
- In a small nonstick pot, combine the pesto, heavy cream, and grated cheese, and heat over medium until the sauce is warm and the cheese has melted.
- When the gnocchi is ready, drain them and return them to the pot, then pour in the pesto sauce.
- Mix everything together, then portion out 4 bowls and top with parmesan cheese to serve. Enjoy!
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