Last week the team at I Quit Sugar were ever so kind as to feature three of the Italian recipes from my Kenkō Kitchen Cookbook on their website. It was such a thrill to be featured on a website which was one of the first tools I utilised when I myself was giving up refined sugars. You can find the full post on the IQS website here.

When I first learnt to cook Italian food was one of the cuisines I wanted to master the most. I would recreate my grandmothers Spaghetti Bolognaise - whilst not very traditional in it's ingredients, it definitely was traditional country Australian bolognaise! Then I moved on to changing this up to be lentil bolognaise adapting it to include more vegetables and different herbs. I would try and make different lasagnes, I would make pestos of different flavours, gourmet pizzas and kept challenging myself with the basics. Whilst these might seem pretty simple for most, for a 13-14 year old I was pretty impressed with myself!

Italian food has always had such a huge influence on my cooking style and when I first gave up gluten it was one of the first things I feared. I loved Italian food! How could I go without it!? Luckily in todays day and age we have so many amazing gluten free options available. Especially in Australia, USA and the UK. I know that Europe is also very strong in its gluten free products with a lot being imported into Australia. But for those who prefer to make it from scratch I share with you today the recipe for my very simple gluten free Spinach Gnocchi with Basil Pesto taken from the Kenkō Kitchen Cookbook. You can substitute the buckwheat flour for all-purpose gluten free flour, you can substitute the potatoes for sweet potato and you can add in extra nuts into the pesto as desired (my favourite nut in pesto is almond!).

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please have a go and see how easy it is to make delicious light gnocchi at home!

Spinach Gnocchi

Serves: 5 | Prep time: 10 minutes, plus drying | Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
2 kg potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups baby spinach or chopped english spinach
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buckwheat flour

Method
To make the gnocchi, start by steaming
the potatoes until soft, around 15 minutes. Transfer them to a bowl with the spinach and mash until smooth. Add the salt and flour and, using your hands, gently work the mixture to make a dough.

Sprinkle a work surface with flour and roll the dough into 2.5 × 1 cm (1 × 1⁄2 in) cylinders and chop into 2.5 cm (1 in) pieces. Gently flatten the top of each gnocchi with a fork and set aside to dry for about 20 minutes.

For the pesto, combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blitz until smooth but still chunky (or to your desired pesto consistency).

To cook the gnocchi, place them in boiling hot water and when they rise to the top, remove them.

Basil pesto

Serves: 5 | Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups fresh green basil
olive oil
2 garlic cloves
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons cashews
1/4 cup almonds

Method

Place all the ingredients with enough olive oil to make into a paste in a food processor or blender and blitz until smooth but still chunky (or to your desired pesto consistency).

TO SERVE simply toss the gnocchi in the pesto and serve with micro basil leaves on top.

GF Spinach Gnocchi with Basil Pesto

Spinach Gnocchi

Basil pesto