RecipesPasta & Co

Homemade Gnocchi with Walnut, Speck & Cheesy Sauce

by Micaela Harrasser

It´s gnocchi time! And in this case you get a double gift: a recipe (with video) to make fresh gnocchi, and a deliciously rich sauce with walnuts, speck and a cheesy sauce. Perfection on a plate!
As mentioned in the notes, you can use store-bought gnocchi to cut times and make a speedy, no fuss version of this 🙂 if you decide to make fresh gnocchi, make sure to choose a white, ´floury´ potato type, as they´re better suited for recipes where they have to be mashed. As for the flour, as mentioned in the ingredients section you can use the all-purpose or ´00´ flour, or even experiment with other types like spelt! (One of my favorites)
Second hint: make sure that your dough is quite hard and dry, ie not sticking to your hands when you work it. Otherwise it will be very difficult to make the gnocchi, and they will stay super soft.
Lastly, if you do not have a gnocchi paddle, you can use a fork to make the characteristic design on top of the pillows. Otherwise, just leave them nice and smooth 😉
For the cheesy sauce, I opted to use Grana padano instead of Parmigiano (found here) to have a less potent sauce and be able to taste both walnuts & speck. Also, if you use the plant-based Alpro cream like I did (or another brand), you will keep this recipe lactose free since these cheeses are without lactose 🙂
If you cannot find good quality speck (I honestly got it during my Christmas holiday in Sudtirol), you can use good quality pancetta, or even guanciale instead 😀
Enjoy!

Homemade Gnocchi with Walnut, Speck & Cheesy Sauce

Serves: 2x Prep Time: Cooking Time: Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

For the fresh gnocchi:

  • 200g potatoes peeled
  • 300g flour (I used the pasta/gnocchi flour from Caputo, you can use all-purpose)
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper a pinch

 

  • 20g walnuts roughly chopped
  • 100g speck cubed
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • fresh chives to sprinkle on top

For the cheese sauce:

  • 160ml cooking cream (I use Alpro)
  • 120g freshly grated Grana padano
  • salt, pepper and nutmeg a pinch

Instructions

  1. To make the gnocchi: cook the potatoes and mash them while still warm. 
  2. Add the flour, egg, salt and pepper and mix with your hands until you form a homogeneous, hard dough that doesn´t stick to your hands. 
  3. Whit a pasta cutter, cut the dough into 3-4 pieces.
  4. Make ropes of the same width, then cut the gnocchi (about 1 cm thick for large ones). 
  5. Optional: with a gnocchi paddle, press gently the gnocchi on top to decorate the top. 
  6. Note: if the gnocchi stick onto the gnocchi board, lightly flour it.
  7. The gnocchi are ready, so now you can place a big pot with water to boil.
  8. Now, let´s make the sauce. 
  9. In a small pan, toast the walnuts on medium-low heat until they start getting darker, about 2-3 min.
  10. Take them off the pan, then add the speck and cook for 3-5 minutes on low heat until tender.
  11. In parallel, heat up the cream in a small pot.
  12. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg.
  13. When the cream is about to boil, add in the cheese, a bit at time, and mix well until combined. Repeat until all the cheese is incorporated. 
  14. Now it´s time to throw the gnocchi in the boiling water!
  15. Stir them and cook until they start floating. 
  16. At this stage, try one to see if they are ready.
  17. Once done, collect the gnocchi and transfer them to a bowl. 
  18. Add the cheesy sauce on top and mix. 
  19. Add the walnuts and speck, and stir gently. 
  20. Plate, add the fresh chives, and serve!

 

Notes

You can use store-bought gnocchi for a speedy version 🙂

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