With its plump pillowy texture and mild delicate flavour, gnocchi is one of the ultimate comfort foods. The little indentations made with the back of a fork are perfect for the fragrant pesto to cling to.

This recipe has been supercharged to a superfood status. I’ve substituted plain wheat flour for kamut flour – a wonderful ancient grain that has 40% more protein and is mega rich in zinc and magnesium. It’s also low in fat and cholesterol free. For the punchy pesto I’ve used hemp seeds (which taste remarkably like pine nuts perhaps with a slight sesame flavour). Hemp has gained super food status, we used to hail the kale and now we can hype the hemp.

These little pocket rockets are the rock stars of the health food world, one of the few plant-based foods that contains 20 amino acids including the nine essential amino acids the body can’t make. They contain all three essential fatty acids (Omega- 3, 6 and 9) needed for the human body to function! Which means you can take comfort in this dish as it’s actually brilliant for your body! Please tuck in…

Ingredients (serves 2)

450 (about 2) large baking potatoes

30g hemp seeds

1 garlic clove, crushed

50g rocket

50g basil

1 tbsp lemon juice

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

150g kamut flour, plus extra for dusting

½ tsp fine salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the pesto

20g hemp seeds
20g pine nuts
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 garlic clove, crushed 
40g rocket
30g basil
1 tbsp lemon juice 
6-8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C. Prick the potatoes with a fork and bake an hour until cooked.
2. For the pesto place the garlic and a large pinch of salt in the of a food processor and whizz until chopped (you can also use a pestle and morter if you prefer) Add the pine nuts, rocket & basil, keep some spare for garnish. Add the oil and lemon juice and blend again. Stir in the hemp seeds and set aside.
3. Put the flour onto a clean work surface into a slight mound. Cut the cooked potatoes in half and scoop out all of the flesh, then pass through a potato ricer or fine grater. Add the cooked potato flesh to the flour and add the beaten egg to bring everything together using clean hands to lightly knead it into a dough. Don’t over kneed the mixture as the gnocchi will be too dense.
4. Clean your work surface and dust with flour and make the dough into a 3cm thick square, cut into 2cm-wide strips and gently roll long sausages. Then cut into 1cm-long pillows roll each gnocchi over the back of a fork to make light groves.
5. Add ½ the gnocchi to a saucepan of salted boiling water. Stir and wait for them to rise to the surface (approx. 2 minutes). Cook remove with a slotted spoon and cook the remaoing batch. Now toss the gnocchi with the pesto to coat them and transfer to plates garnished with basil.