It was the pistachio pesto part of the Toasted Ricotta Gnocchi with Pistachio Pesto from Smitten Kitchen Keepers that caught my eye. We like pistachio and it struck me as something that would potentially be pretty flexible for other uses.

I planned this meal and then it got rescheduled a couple of times — while it’s not hard, it is a little time-intensive. I think it took me about 90 minutes start to finish. I did try to overlap various parts of the prep but there is just a lot to do with this one.

Making the gnocchi was surprisingly easy. Typically gnocchi is made with potatoes, but these use ricotta which saves quite a bit of time in and of itself. You start by wicking some of the moisture out of the cheese, and then you mix it with flour, parmesan, and an egg. Then you roll out some logs and cut off little pillows of gnocchi. Deb has you put them in the freezer briefly so they’re a little less delicate when you cook them.

The preparation itself is very simple, these are just pan fried in olive oil. I think I let mine get a little too dark but no harm was done. The hardest part of making the pesto is shelling all the pistachios, but if you have a helper or do it ahead of time it’ll come together really quickly. We ended up only using about half of it, so if you don’t think you’ll have a use for the leftover pesto I’d recommend halving it. (We used the leftover pesto on handmade ravioli I got at the farmer’s market, so if you like the sounds of the pesto but not making gnocchi, a high-quality fresh, stuffed pasta will do nicely.)

This was absolutely delicious and I’ll definitely make it again, though it isn’t really a weeknight meal. It would be an easy special occasion dish, or just something for a day when I have the time and feel like cooking.