In our modern society of grocery shopping convenience, it’s easy to take for granted the mind-boggling variety of fruits and vegetables that actually exist (or used to exist before we rendered them obsolete).
We’ve started to see some of these “old” crops comin’ back. Lo-and-behold, carrots come in colours other than orange and tomatoes aren’t just red! Over time we’ve bred our fruits and veg to easily grow, pack, ship and be store-able for maximum convenience of our modern needs. But you know what they say – you can’t have your tomatoes and eat ‘em too.
Heirloom tomatoes taste almost nothing like their hybrid counterparts. The flavour is so intense it’s practically dizzying. Compared to the cholorine-y conventional ones I’m willing to pay almost anything for one (and you WILL pay a pretty penny).
Did you know? The term ‘heirloom’ when applied to produce usually refers to a traditional plant that has not been bred (or hy-bred) for commercial purposes and/or whose seed has been passed down through generations.
Ingredients
400g frozen spinach, thawed
1½ cups ricotta
½ cup grated parmesan (I used goat parm)
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1¼ cups spelt flour
2 eggs
4-6 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
¼ cup chopped basil
more basil leaves for garnish
sea salt and cracked black pepper
olive oil
either pre-made or home-made pesto to coat the gnocchi with
Method
1. Thaw/drain and squeeze any excess water from the spinach then toss it all into a bowl with the ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, flour and eggs.
2. Stir to combine and form a soft dough.
3. Transfer dough to a clean, lightly floured surface and divide your dough ball into two. Roll out each ball into a long (~40cm) rope, then slice into your gnocchi pieces. (I cut them about 2cm wide). Transfer your raw gnocchi onto a tray as you go.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and then drop in the gnocchi (I cooked them in 2-3 batches). Gnocchi will cook for about 5 minutes (usually they’ll start floating to the top when they’re done), or until cooked through.
5. Slice your tomatoes and arrange on plates with a little basil, olive oil and salt and pepper.
6. In a clean bowl, toss the cooked gnocchi together with your pesto and then arrange on top of the tomato slices. Serve and enjoy!
