"Gnocchi Thursday!": the common custom of preparing gnocchi on Thursday was due to the need to eat a substantial dish in preparation for the following day, Friday, which according to Catholic tradition is the "day of fasting" or abstention from meat.
Nowadays, however, gnocchi are eaten every day: so I present you a delicious recipe to try: potato gnocchi with artichoke pesto and crispy pancetta.
- 1.33 pack of Armando gnocchi
- 5.33 large artichokes
- 133.33 g of bacon
- 66.67 g of grated cheese
- Half a clove of garlic
- 1.33 knob of butter
- Extra virgin olive oil to taste
- Chili pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
First, take a pot, fill it with water and bring it to a boil.
Clean the artichokes by removing the tough outer leaves and rinsing them under running water. Then, cut them into quarters, peel the stems, and place them in the pot with the water, cooking for about 40 minutes.
In the meantime, finely chop the garlic and set it aside, dice the pancetta and brown it in a pan with a knob of butter (if the pancetta is quite fatty or if you are using guanciale, I recommend omitting the butter).
As soon as the pancetta is crispy, turn off the heat and set it aside in a bowl. Don't discard the released fat, as you'll need it shortly.
After 30 minutes, remove the two outer leaves of each artichoke and, using a smooth-bladed knife, julienne them. Return the whole artichokes to the boiling water, season with salt, and continue cooking. Fry the julienned artichoke leaves in the bacon fat until crispy.
After about 40 minutes of cooking, remove the artichokes from the water (do not throw it away but use it to cook the gnocchi) and prepare the pesto: quickly chop the artichokes with a
Knife and place them in a blender along with the garlic, grated cheese, a teaspoon of chili pepper, a pinch of salt, and 8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Blend until the mixture is creamy. If you don't get a creamy consistency, I recommend sieving it to remove the tougher outer parts of the artichokes.
Next, add the artichoke pesto to the pan with 90% of the pancetta, cook the gnocchi for 2 minutes, drain them, and toss them in the pan for 1 minute.
Finally, plate up, add the remaining bacon and the artichokes previously cut into julienne strips.
Enjoy your meal!
