rocket

This is the second post on seasonal cooking to follow up on the Cauliflower post. Rocket is one of those fantastic garden producers, which once planted never really leave a well watered garden. We have rocket springing up pretty much all over the place and i picked this bag weighing nearly 1kg and didnt make a dent in the rocket patch. Its a great easy green that can be used raw or cooked and can be grown easily in tubs, maybe even on a window sill as it has pretty shallow roots. A great patio alternative to silverbeet and can be used pretty much in substitution of, i think. This recipe really uses up a huge amount of rocket, nearly all the 1 kg (i used more than the recipe asked) as it uses rocket in both the gnocci and the sauce. So if you have a heap growing in the garden and are sick of salad and pesto on pasta this is a great one. It uses up more rocket than any other reicpe Ive come across, even rocket pesto, which i also made a huge stash of, but we need something a bit more novel than rocket pesto right? So, not a nut in sight (Ive left that pun alone).

rocket (aragula) gnocci
1 kg floury (baking) potatoes - king edwards, desiree, (uses up those taties too, floury potatoes look whiter, yellow ones are waxier)
salt
250g flour
2 egg yolks
30ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (i never use just 1 clove)
500g rocket leaves
pepper

sauce
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
45ml olive oil
300 gm rocket leaves
500g preserved tomatoes
salt
50g fresh parmesan cheese

Cook potatoes in salted water with skins and while still warm peel and mash by hand. Do not use a food processor as the starchy proteins will be transformed and the consistency will not be what you need for gnocci, more like school glue -ick.
Spread out potato mash and work in flour and egg yolks.


Heat oil and lightly brown onion and garlic. Add rocket that has been quickly blanched (i used the potato water). Drain and add to onion mix. Season and then chop in a food processor until finely processed. Add this rocket mix to dough. Work in, then form dough into walnut size balls. Dry for 2-3 hours (or as long as you can).


Sauce.
Cook garlic in oil then add rocket and tomatoes. Simmer and season.
Cook gnocci in boiling salted water until they float to surface. Lift out as they rise and add to sauce in pan or top with sauce once in bowls. Serve with parmesan cheese.

A magic rocket meal.


The pic is a bit festy as it was taken at night with poor light conditions. It looked a lot better (more edible) than this, but you get the idea.