Homemade Gnocchi With Coriander And Roasted Almond Pesto

To make the gnocchi, prick the potatoes several times with a small knife and place onto a bed of rock salt in a baking tray in a hot oven. Bake for about 11/2 hours, or until the inside is soft when tested with a knife. When cooked, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. The salt bed helps to dry out the potatoes even more resulting in really nice gnocchi. Remove the cooked potato from the skins and pass through a potato ricer or sieve into a large bowl. Add the flour, parmesan, egg yolk, olive oil to the potatoes. Season, to taste, with salt and stir until the mixture comes together into a dough. Working on a floured surface, divide the dough into four and roll each quarter into a long sausage shape. Cut into 2cm/1in pieces. I like to chill the gnocchi at this stage to firm them up before cooking, at least half an hour covered with cling film in the fridge.
When you are ready to cook the gnocchi, bring a large saucepan of boiling water to the boil with a good pinch of salt. Add the gnocchi in to the water gently and cook for a minute or two until the gnocchi pop to the surface, this means they are cooked. Remove the cooked gnocchi with a slotted spoon. Now make the pesto by blending all ingredients together until they form a paste, heat a frying pan with some olive oil, when hot add in the cooked gnocchi and toss around the pan until golden brown, take out and serve mixed with the pesto.