Creamy Pesto Gnocchi with Balsamic Bacon

Where Richness Meets Quiet Complexity

There are dishes that earn their indulgence slowly — layered, considered, unhurried in the way they come together. This is one of them. A creamy pesto sauce carries the kind of herbal depth that feels both ancient and immediate, while the balsamic-glazed bacon introduces something unexpected: a dark, sweet-savory note that grounds the whole bowl. The gnocchi, soft and yielding as ever, holds it all together. It's a weeknight meal that doesn't behave like one.

Ingredients

• 5 strips of bacon
• 2 tablespoons Alessi Traditional Balsamic Reduction
• 1 package Alessi Gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon Alessi Garlic Puree
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon Alessi Pesto
• Alessi Sea Salt, to taste
• Alessi Black Pepper
• 1/4 cups Alessi Pine Nuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cover a sheet tray in foil.
3. Place bacon strips on covered sheet tray and with a brush, coat bacon on both sides with balsamic reduction.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. When done remove from oven and let cool.
6. Chop bacon into bite sized pieces.
7. Cook gnocchi according to cooking instructions. Set aside.
8. Melt butter in a medium sauté pan.
9. Add flour and garlic puree and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until a roux is formed.
10. Add heavy cream and stir until warmed.
11. Next add P armesan cheese and stir until melted.
12. Stir in pesto and add salt and black pepper to taste.
13. Sauce should be nice and thick at this point.
14. Add cooked gnocchi and evenly coat with sauce.
15. Divide gnocchi among serving bowls and sprinkle balsamic glazed bacon pieces and pine nuts on top of gnocchi and drizzle more pesto for added color.