Ricotta Nocken with Pesto

If you have some old leftover bread, this is a good recipe for a quick lunch. I had some really rock-hard bread, just the perfect thing for this dish!

Serve this dish with a fresh arugula salad with a simple olive oil, balsamic vinegar dressing, sprinkled with some freshly ground pepper.



For 2 people:

For the Gnocchi:
150 g ricotta
60 g finely ground old bread
5 egg yolks (Yes, it's a lot! And what can you do with the egg whites? Check out the meringues above.)
salt and pepper

For the Pesto:
handful fresh basil leaves
handful fresh mint leaves
roughly chopped pine nuts
3 garlic cloves, chopped
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper (preferrably freshly ground)


Instructions:

Mix ricotta, finely ground bread powder and egg yolks together in a bowl. Add salt and pepper.
Create about 3 cm (1,5 inch) pieces from the mixture. The best way I think, to do this, is to use two spoons and move the paste from one spoon to the other, back and forth, again and again, each time trying to shape the pieces and make them more firm. Place them on a plate.

Heat some olive oil in a flat, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Put the gnocchi into the skillet and fry them until they look golden all around. Be careful not to make them fall apart when you try to turn them. Chopsticks work great for that! Actually, Yoko did that for me because she's better in handling the chopsticks :-)

Once they're ready, or a bit before then, heat some more olive oil in another, smaller skillet.
Add garlic and pine nuts, giving them a lightly brown color.

Place the gnocchi on the dishes. Sprinkle them with the fresh basil and mint leaves. Pour the garlic, pine nut, olive oil mixture over the gnocchi. Serve!