sage advice: this pesto is fabulous

inspired by this recipe, i decided to try my hand at making sweet potato gnocchi. we were having friends over and it just seemed like the right thing to do. patrick has been living abroad and it was lovely to be able to feed him in the flesh instead of via his stomach's internet browsing.  behold, sweet potato gnocchi with sage pesto and chanterelles.

i gathered:
.6 kg sweet potato
a little over a cup of flour, plus more for working surface
pinch of nutmeg
strained blob of cottage cheese

i let the cottage cheese strain for about an hour while i baked the potatoes. once they were cooled, i squeezed them out of their skins and combined them with a shake of nutmeg, the cottage cheese and flour, a little at a time, until my dough felt right in my hands. then i rolled it, sliced it, forked it, boiled it, and pan fried it.

but what to eat with the gnocchi? i opted for a pesto. since sage and pecans and sweet potato like each other, i went for it. an enjoyable mélange of yum.

into the trusty food processor went:
1 bunch sage
small clump parsley

then i added:
lots of fresh garlic

next:
generous heap of pecans

and lastly:
olive oil

it is a good thing our friends like garlic because the sage flavour was all happy and then ka-POW! garlic. and then it mellowed again. really excellent.





we also enjoyed a simple mixed green salad with tomato and avocado and balsamic vinaigrette, and for dessert, an apple pie. but more on the pie later.