A fantastic hors d'oeuvre to serve at your next party. Or make a larger portion for an entree.
Fill a bowl with ice cubes and water. In a pot of boiling water, blanch the chives for 30 seconds. Remove immediately and add to the ice water.
Drain and wrap in paper towels. Squeeze out the excess water. Add the chives and the rest of the ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend for 2 minutes before straining through a sieve or cheesecloth.
Transfer the oil to a glass container and seal it. The oil can be refrigerated for up to a month. Use at room temperature.
Prick holes in the potatoes with a fork to let out steam. Bake the potatoes for 1 hour. Remove, cut in half and let cool. Scoop out the insides of the potatoes and add to a large bowl. Using a fork, mash the potatoes a bit.
Add the flour ¼ of a time, mixing the flour all the way in. Finish with the rest of the flour.
Combine until a smooth, slightly sticky dough is formed.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead. Divide into 8 sections.
7. Roll out one section at a time in a long log. Use a sharp knife or dough cutter to cut into 1 inch “pillows”.
You can par boil the gnocchi as is, or you can roll on a gnocchi board or a fork for classic gnocchi lines. Drop gnocchi into a pot of boiling water. When the gnocchi floats to the surface remove from the water with a slotted spoon and hold in a bowl.
In a dry pan, toast the pine nuts for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the pan and hold in a bowl.
In the same pan, heat 1 tsp of olive oil. Add the spinach and minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
In a pan, heat 1 tsp of the chive oil. Add gnocchi to the pan and saute until browned. Add to a plate or bowl and sprinkle with pine nuts and add wilted spinach. Drizzle with chive oil. If desired, add chopped chives to the gnocchi as well.
12 servings
1