Lemon basil is one of my favorite summer herbs! It is extremely fragrant and tasty. I like to add it to pesto with a touch of lemon juice for some brightness and it is absolutely amazing! Lemon basil isn’t the easiest to find so I grow it in my garden; you can purchase lemon basil seeds here. This is definitely one of my favorite pasta recipes this summer! This recipe serves 3-4 people and takes about 10 minutes to prepare.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup ricotta
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 oz fresh basil
- 1 oz fresh lemon basil (if you can’t find lemon basil you can use regular basil)
- 1/2 oz fresh parsley
- 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice from a lemon
- Splash of olive oil to help blend
- Kosher salt to taste
- 1 cup fresh made gnocchi per person
Process:
- Cook fresh gnocchi in a pot of salted, boiling water until they float (about 2 minutes). Drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water.
- Add almonds to a blender and pulse until you have a coarse grind (you do not want almond butter, you should pulse until you have medium sized almond bits).
- Next add ricotta, basil, lemon basil, parsley, black pepper and lemon juice and mix until combined and creamy (make sure you still have coarse bits of almonds, do not over blend). Add a splash of olive oil as necessary to help blend.
- Taste test! Add salt to taste.
- Add sauce to the pot of cooked gnocchi with a splash of pasta water and mix over medium-low heat until well combined and sauce is clinging to the gnocchi (only about a minute).
- Serve with a glass of wine and enjoy!
