Last week Nigel gave us a bag of fresh kale. We used half of it in a Kale and Rocket Pesto, which was based on our Kale Pesto recipe. Today I used the rest of the kale to make gnocchi. I took inspiration from a Pumpkin and Rocket Gnocchi recipe in the Covent Garden Soup and Beyond book.

Start by dicing 200g of squash then boil for about 5 minutes until it softens. Take a good sized handful of Kale and cut the stalks from leaves. Drop the kale in the boiling water for a few seconds until it wilts.

Mash the squash and stir in about 70g of plain flour. Chop the kale and stir it in. Some parsley and watercress can also be chopped and added as well. Grate about 60g of cheddar and mix that in too, along with a pinch of salt and a beaten egg.

If the mixture is a bit sloppy, you might need to add a bit more flour. Put dollops of the mixture on a well floured surface and roll into a sausage. Break off bits and roll into balls.

Add the gnocchi to a large pan of simmering water and wait until they float. Serve with a sauce of your choice.

The final picture above has the gnocchi with a tomato and vegetable sauce made by finely chopping some red pepper, a chilli pepper, courgette, leek and garlic and simmering in passata with some added herbs and seasoning for about 15 minutes or so.