2. Recipes & Cooking Tips, Katrina Meynink recipe, Pork Recipes
PORK AND FENNEL GNOCCHI WITH BASIL PESTO
PORK AND FENNEL SAUSAGE WITH RICOTTA GNOCCHI AND PESTO
The beauty in this is you can make as much as you like from scratch (pesto and gnocchi I am looking at you) or you can “hack it” and use store bought pesto and gnocchi when speed and low-key effort is the order of the day.
I have provided recipes for everything just in case, like me, you prefer to do the lot from scratch but zero judgement here. Whatever gets something delicious on the table is what really matters, not how you get it there.
This recipe serves 6–8
KATRINA MEYNINK
ITALIAN PORK & FENNEL SAUSAGES
This recipe calls for our authentic, Italian-style pork and fennel sausages. Fresh, coarsely ground and full of flavour.
Made in-house using quality pork and whole toasted fennel seeds, they’re simple and perfectly seasoned. Once the meat hits the pan, it caramelises beautifully. Crisp edges, rich flavour and the perfect ratio of fat to meat.
This recipe shows just how versatile they are. Not just a sausage at all. Remove the skins and use the meat for pasta, ragù, meatballs or stuffing. It’s a great way to easily build flavour into all sorts of dishes.
INGREDIENTS
Main Dish
1kg pork and fennel sausages, skins removed, meat roughly chopped
500g fresh gnocchi
1 cup pesto
extra fresh basil & parsley leaves to serve
extra Parmesan to serve (optional)
Pesto
1 ½ cups basil leaves
½ cup flat leaf parsley leaves
75g Parmesan
½ cup smoked almonds, chopped
¾ cup olive oil
Gnocchi
400g ricotta, drained
120g plain flour
3 egg yolks, beaten
¾ cup finely grated parmesan
METHOD
Pesto
To make the pesto, place all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor or blender. Blitz until finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly pour in the oil. Blitz until smooth (or to desired consistency), adding a touch of extra oil if required to help it blitz. For this recipe it helps to have a loose pesto to coat the sausage and gnocchi more easily.
Gnocchi
Combine all ingredients in a bowl using your hands or a pastry scraper. Bring the dough together gently, don’t overwork it. If it feels too sticky, add a little extra flour.
Divide into a few portions and roll each into a log. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Don’t worry about perfect shapes as they’ll puff as they cook. Lightly dust with flour and give them a gentle toss to lightly coat.
Bring large pot of salted water to the boil and gently add the gnocchi. As soon as the gnocchi is done it will look slightly puffed and float to the top. Drain using a slotted spoon and set aside.
To finish
Place a frying pan over medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil and once hot, add the sausage meat in batches and cook until crisp and golden.
Return all sausage to the pan, add pesto to taste and cook briefly to loosen the pesto. Add the gnocchi and toss gently. Let it cook for a minute or two undisturbed so the gnocchi crisps on some of the edges.
To serve
Scatter over the extra fresh herbs plus Parmesan if using. Season generously with sea salt flakes and cracked pepper.
*If you are making this recipe using storebought pesto and gnocchi. Let the pesto come to room temperature. Cook the gnocchi according to packet instructions then follow the recipe above from the cooking of the sausage meat.
