Mushroom Gnocchi with Walnut Pesto and Arugula – a vegetarian bowl that’s made with familiar ingredients. Comes together in 30 minutes or less!
SCALE
INGREDIENTS
for the walnut pesto
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
for the gnocchi
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 16 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
- 24 ounces DeLallo Traditional Gnocchi (1 1/2 packages)
- 3–4 cups arugula (optional)
- fresh parsley, basil, or other herbs to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Toast the walnuts in a nonstick skillet over medium low heat, shaking or stirring to make sure they don’t burn. Pulse the walnuts, parmesan, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until a textured paste forms. Set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the gnocchi and cook until they float to the top of the water. Drain and set aside.
- While the gnocchi is cooking, heat the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for a few minutes until the mushrooms are browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add the gnocchi to the mushrooms in the pan. Over medium high heat, stir in about half of the walnut mixture. Things will get a little sticky because of the Parmesan, but if you keep browning it, you will end up with gnocchi pieces that have that perfectly golden brown textured exterior (and mushrooms, too). Add the herbs and toss gently to combine.
- If desired, toss with arugula (it will wilt, which I was fine with, but if you want it to stay crispier, let the whole thing cool down a little bit first). With the remaining pesto, add a little more water and salt and pulse to form a sauce if you want (see video). Drizzle over each serving.
NOTES
Normally I drown my foods in sauces. But this recipe is more rustic-feeling. It eats almost like a warm, roasty salad. There isn’t a whole lot of sauce going on other than the pesto.
If you DO end up adding water or oil to your leftover walnut pesto to make something of a sauce, be sure to season it generously with salt and pepper, and be aware that because it’s a nut-based sauce, it will be very thick and heavy. As leftovers sit around, it will get even thicker.
A lighter “sauce” option would just be an additional drizzle of olive oil with some good sea salt.
This is a really flexible recipe so go nutso with it to make it to your gnocchi liking!
