• 1 lb of whole-wheat/sweet potato gnocchi
  • 2 cups of shelled walnuts
  • 1/2 cup of parmesan
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • A few leaves of fresh basil, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup milk (may need a little more)
  • A splash of sherry or dry white wine
  • Salt and pepper to taste

This recipe is like creamy alfredo sauce without breaking all the rules.  In fact, one of the main ingredients in this sauce is a superfood.  Bonus points for that.  I found this online at epicurious.com.  It’s a great site for unique recipes, if anyone was wondering.  Here is my version of the recipe, and as usual, a little modified.

Directions:

  1. In a small pot, bring less than a quart of water to a boil and drop the walnuts in.
  2. Turn off the flame after a minute or so and let them sit for an hour in the water.  This will release their bitterness.
  3. After an hour, drain the walnuts and peel the skin as much as you can. (I ended up leaving most of the skin on, but I could tell that the sauce might have a better texture if you took the time to do this.)
  4. Put them in a blender or food processor and add the rest of the ingredients except the basil and gnocchi. *If the sauce is more chunky than creamy, add some more milk and blend some more. The sauce should have a nice creamy consistency.
  5. After blending, add the basil leaves and adjust with salt and pepper and stir.
  6. Boil water and cook the gnocchi according to the directions on the package.
  7. With a slotted spoon, scoop out the gnocchi to drain from the cooking water and place them in a warm bowl. Reserve some of the cooking water.
  8. Mix the gnocchi with the walnut sauce, adding some of the reserved hot water if needed, and serve immediately.