pistacchio pesto gnocchi!

There are two "c"s in gnocchi to indicate hitting the c at the end of the first syllable and at the beginning of the second syllable. That is how double consonants work in Italian. Which makes them a bit tricky for American non-native speakers of that language. One of those "c"s in pistacchio gets lost for the English spelling and very different pronunciation. We tend to use the Italian spelling even when writing in English, since that is how the word sounds in our minds. Quirkly, right?

Well, not actually. When native Spanish speakers are speaking English and speak names like Nicaragua or El Salvador, you always here that authentic pronunciation. They cannot seem to force themselves to mispronounce a word that just wants to be original. Parmigiano is another word we have trouble replacing with parmesan.

So this is a low skill high payoff recipe that gives a quick satisfying meal. If you can open a jar, you can do this. One jar of pistacchio pesto. If you like garlic as we do, you can saute a bit of garlic to taste in a little olive oil before dumping in the jar of pesto. This little jar of pesto suddenly appeared at Whole Foods with "con pistacchio siciliano" on the jar, a sort of guarantee of some quality since Sicily is known for its Bronte pistacchio especially.

As for gnocchi, these can be made by hand and we have had experience with this effort (see notes), but no need to overdo it here. Ready to eat gnocchi from Italy can be found in your local supermarket. We chose DeCecco and then Rummo from While Foods, both brands we trust. It is only recently that pistacchio pesto has found its way across the Atlantic, but we are thankful. If you visit an Italian supermarket in Italy, you will find numerous variations of pesto: some are found here too. After the usual pesto alla Genovese (with basil and pinenuts), there are the Sicilian variation pesto alla Trapanese (with tomatores and almonds), pesto rosso (with sundried tomatoes!), the Ligurian variation pesto con le noci (with walnuts), pesto Modenese (with lardo from Emilia-Romana). There are more...

ingredients

1 6.7 oz jar of Italian pistacchio pesto 

1 about one pound package of potato gnocchi made in Italy or in-store at trusted Italian American destination.

1-2 T olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, pressed, to taste

optional parmigiano for serving

instructions

1. Boil the gnocchi according to the package directions.
2. Meanwhile saute' the pressed garlic in a large frying pan without burning it.
3. Then pour in the jar of pesto and combine well, warming up the pesto just a bit.
4. Combine with the drained gnocchi in the pan, scooping them out of the boiling water with a pasta sieve directly into the pesto pan.
5. Serve with the optional freshly grated parmigiano.

notes

1. Seggiano Pistachio Pesto at Whole Foods. No mention of the famous Bronte pistacchio at the company website but no matter. The taste is good enough.
2. Prepackaged potato gnocchi. 500g = 17.6 oz approximately 18 oz. US packaging has US units, exact or rounded up. [DeCecco, Rummo]
3. Bronte pistacchio: "The Bronte pistachio (known in Italian as Pistacchio verde di Bronte) is a famous, high-quality green pistachio variety grown in volcanic soil. It is protected by European law as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO/DOP) product. People often call it "green gold"." Volcanic soil means the slopes of Mt Etna, the live volcano that seems pretty famous by now.
4. ani and bob did a potato gnocchi workshop with an Italian nonna last century. Gnocchi also pair well with "normal" green pesto and green beans, a variation of the traditional combo of pesto pasta with potatoes and green beans.
5. Illustrations available.