Gnocchi with Parsley Pesto, Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Portobellos

Parsley, parsley EVERYWHERE!  Seriously, like I told my good friend LA last night, if you live in Athens and you need some parsley for a recipe, please just drive over to our house and get it.  You don't even need to call first--just come and get it.  We have both flat and curly leaf varieties.  It's more than we know what to do with...

BUT, we did come up with something that uses quite a bit and we've featured it here before.  PESTO!  No, you don't have to use basil.  You can use mint or oregano or arugula!  I love this variation in particular.  We made two big batches--one that we used for this meal and then another to keep in the fridge to use for sandwiches.  

Of course, keepin' it as local as possible, we used pecans from what seems like a never-ending cache we collected at the end of last year.  

As this was a weeknight meal, we used store-bought gnocchi, but I'm dying to make it myself soon.  Hopefully that'll be coming soon.

Recipe

1 box gnocchi

3 portobello mushrooms, chopped

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

1 large zucchini, sliced

parsley pesto

Once you have the pesto made, this is a cinch.  Just saute the mushrooms and zucchini, boil the gnocchi until it floats, and mix it all together with the fresh tomato.  Any veggies could be substituted.  In particular, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach would all be great.

Also, we recently purchased an artichoke to snack on and I wanted to share an easy dip that I made for it that you can use in place of the butter dip that most people serve with artichokes.  

Steam the artichoke until tender, about 25 minutes depending on the size. 

For the dip, just mix half a cup of mayo (we use Safflower mayo) or vegenaise with a tablespoon of yellow curry powder and the juice of half a lemon.  Refrigerate to set.  I also used this on a sandwich the next day and it was delightful!