Chorizo Gnocchi with Cilantro Pesto

A beautiful play on Chorizo con papa

When I was a kid I would always ask my grandma for chorizo, she would make me the best chorizo con papas of course it came with beans which I tried to add to this dish but just didn’t make sense. So my idea with this dish was to elevate one of my favorite childhood meals and to pay respect to my grandma. Hopefully I did both.

Recipe:

Chorizo Gnocchi with Cilantro Pesto

Serves 2

• 2 Russet potatos

• 1/4 cup flour

• 1 egg

• salt

• 1 package of Chorizo ( I used Salvadorean chorizo )

• 1 bunch of cilantro

• 2 tbsp of oil

• 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp of Pepitas ( Raw pumpkin seed )

• 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp of Cotija cheese

• 1 Jalapeno

• 2 cloves of garlic

• pepper

• 1/2 cup of heavy cream

• 1/4 cup crema ( I used Salvadorean crema )

Instructions for Gnocchi

1. Start by taking your russet potatoes and putting them into a 400 degree oven for about 45 mins to an hour

2. Once the potatoes are cooked all the way you can pierce them with a fork, take them out and slice them in half down the middle scoop them onto a board ( they should be pretty soft and pliable like mash potatoes) and let sit for only a few minutes enough for you to handle the gnocchi needs to be made fast while the potato is still warm

3. Now add the flour and egg and start kneading like traditional pasta ( If the dough is too wet add more flour a little at a time and keep kneading until it is dry and feels like pasta dough )

4. Knead into a giant log and cut into thirds, roll out the thirds into long strips ( similar to how pretzel dough looks before being twisted into a pretzel) and start cutting the long strips into bite sized pieces flower a sheet tray and put the gnocchi onto it and mix in with the flower to stop it from sticking

5. Cut the chorizo into smaller pieces

6. Get a pot of water to start boiling on the side

7. while the water in the pot is heating up heat up a pan with a little oil, once it’s hot toss in the chorizo and sauté till cooked.

8. Once the water is boiling start dropping in the gnocchi ( be careful not splash hot water around ) it will only take about 2 mins for the pasta to be ready

9. Once the gnocchi is floating to the top of the water ( this is how you know it’s done with a spider or slotted spoon drop the gnocchi into the chorizo and let them fry together for a minute

10. Now that they’ve been cooking for a minute pour in the heavy cream and crema with a couple tbsp of pasta water ( to help thicken up the sauce ) and just a little cotija

11. Serve onto a plate top with the cilantro pesto and some cotija and that’s it

Instructions for Cilantro Pesto

1. Rip or roughly chop a bunch of cilantro and the jalapeno and put into either a blender or the cup for a hand blender

2. Now add in the cheese, oil, red wine vinegar, pepitas, salt and pepper

3. Blend until you get a pesto like mix

4. And top your pasta with little dollops of this magical sauce and you are ready to go

   So after that you are ready to feast on a delicious meal. Make this for someone you love and enjoy each others company that is what life is all about.