Herby gnudi with peas, broad beans & pea shoots

The legumes are abundant, the herb bed is a jungle, and I have a new favourite way to use them all.

Did you think gnudi were a faff?

I did. I’d made them once or twice at chef school and then forgotten them. And now that I discover how easy and tasty they are, I realise I have needlessly suffered many gnudiless years. But I’ll make up for it. Give me a couple of months and I’ll find every which way of drawing the veg patch harvests into my new gnudi heaven.

We begin with a simple herby gnudi served with fresh peas and broad beans and finished with nothing but some top other olive oil. But there are, I discover, many other ways with gnudi:

Gnudi recipes around Substack

• Giulia Scarpaleggia
  shares her Nettle Gnudi recipe on
  Sarah Copeland
  ’s lovely
  EDIBLE LIVING by Sarah Copeland

• Rosie Mackean
  has a labneh and dill gnudi recipe you’ll be needing

• Liz Prueitt
  has an interesting baking method in her gnudi and tomato sauce recipe which I’ll be trying

Herby gnudi with peas and peashoots

Traditionally, gnudi are made without flour and left, buried in semolina, to mature for several days before cooking. Adding flour, as here, makes them a touch firmer, but shortcuts the curing phase. Once you have the non-traditional-gnudi-method under your belt, you can adapt this recipe for whatever herbs you have to hand and whatever veg is glutting in the garden. The frying is not essential, but I love the crispy texture it gives them.

Serves 4

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 200g peas