One Pot Creamy Gnocchi and Sausage

I had pinned this recipe a while ago. Tonight I had all the ingredients in the house. Rave reviews from both sides of the table. The original recipe can be found on Food Talk Daily.

Ingredients-
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound mild Italian sausage (removed from casing)
1/2 bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half cream
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 500g pack of gnocchi

Method-
In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat, then add sausage and cook, stirring frequently, until browned on all sides.
Add in the bell pepper strips, and cook another couple of minutes until the pepper starts to soften.
Add in the tomato paste, stir, then add the chicken broth, cream, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and finally the gnocchi. Stir to combine.
Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and allow to cook for 5 minutes.

Pepperoni and Onion Sauce with Potato Gnocchi

I have to tell you that the first time I walked into the Three Girls Vegan Creamery I felt like I walked into my Mom's kitchen. My Mom was far from vegan. It was more of a portion thing. I walked in the Three Girls Vegan Creamery hoping to try a couple of menu items and I walked out with a week's worth of food!

The Three Girls Vegan Creamery recently opened a new store with more hours (!!!) and I stopped in this past Sunday to pick up some food for our first week of Lent. Pepperoni and some Lasagna.

Back to tonight's dinner. Ash Wednesday. I got my ashes at an Ashes to Go stop at the Madison train station. Seemed very convenient. For dinner, I amped it up a bit. Lidia Bastianich's Basic Potato Gnocchi with Marcella Hazan's Onion and Butter Tomato Sauce with some of Three Girls Vegan Creamery Pepperoni.

Yeah, it was very good. Not a bad start for Lent.

Potato Gnocchi with Pancetta and Zucchini Sauce

The gnocchi came out like little clouds. The recipe is from Biba's Italian Kitchen. My Mom gave me the book back in 1995. We both loved watching Biba on television. The Gnocchi recipe is easy! I baked the potatoes this morning. I got home from errands at 2:45. I made the Gnocchi and was able to get to 4:30 mass. Not bad! The Gnocchi recipe is at the end of this post.

The sauce took 20 minutes to put together. First I heated olive oil in a saute pan. I browned the diced pancetta. Next, I added 2 sliced zucchini and 1 sliced yellow squash. I sauteed them until they started to break down. I seasoned the pan with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. I added a knob of butter and some white wine, maybe about a 1/2 cup.  Meanwhile, I boiled a pan of water and added the Gnocchi. When they rose to the top of the pan I used a slotted spoon to remove the Gnocchi from the water and place them in the saute pan.  After adding the Gnocchi I added some of the pasta water to make a sauce. Over low heat, I stirred everything together and added more water as needed. I finished the sauce with some Parmesan Cheese.

Basic Potato Gnocchi

Ingredients-
4 large boiling potatoes
1 tbsp salt
1 large egg, beaten in a small bowl
1 1/2 to 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Method-
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and dry the potatoes. With a knife, make a long, deep incision in the potatoes. Put the potatoes in the oven and bake until they are tender, about 1 hour.

When cool enough to handle, peel potatoes and put them through a potato ricer or mash them with a fork. Put potatoes into a large bowl and season with salt. Add the egg and 1 1/2 cups of flour. Mix the potatoes, egg and the flour together with your hands until the dough begins to stick together.

Transfer the mixture to a wooden board and knead lightly, gradually adding the remaining flour if the dough sticks heavily to the board and to your hands. Knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes until it is smooth and pliable and just a bit sticky. Divide the dough into several equal pieces. Flour your hands lightly, using both hands, roll out each piece of dough with a light back and forth motion into a roll about the thickness of your index finger. Cut each roll into 1-inch pieces.

Hold fork with its tines against a work board, the curved part of the fork facing away from you. Starting from the curved outside bottom of the fork, press each piece of dough with your index finger firmly upward along the length of the tines. Let the gnocchi fall back onto the work surface. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough until all the gnocchi have been formed. Place the gnocchi on a lightly floured platter or cookie sheet. they can be cooked immediately or stored in the refrigerator, uncovered, for several hours.

Skillet Gnocchi with Grilled Corn and Burrata

Prep work is what made this dinner possible. I found the recipe for Skillet Gnocchi with Grilled Corn and Burrata in the PowWow newsletter. I did all the sauteing and grilling of vegetables on Sunday. Tonight it was just about heating up and cooking the Gnocchi. I did add some of the pasta water into the saute pan after adding the Gnocchi. That help makes a nice smooth sauce. Delicious!

My version of Skillet Gnocchi with Grilled Corn and Burrata -

Ingredients

2 ears corn, shucked

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound store-bought gnocchi
1 small red onion, sliced
3 ounces arugula
Crushed red-pepper flakes, grated Parmesan cheese, burrata cheese and fresh basil leaves, for serving.

Method-
Preheat the grill or set a grill pan over high heat. Brush each ear of corn with ½ tablespoon melted butter. Grill the corn until charred and tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Cut the kernels off the cobs and set aside.

In a medium bowl, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil and then season with salt and pepper. Sauté the tomatoes until charred and blistered, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook until they float to the surface, 4 to 5 minutes; drain.

In the skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the cooked gnocchi, corn and tomatoes, and sauté about 2 minutes. Add small amounts of pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time. Sprinkle with some Parmesan. Stir until smooth. Add the arugula and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and top with red pepper flakes, Parmesan, burrata and basil. Serve immediately.

Potato Gnocchi with Tomato and Pancetta Sauce

First a little background. I have this cat. Kramer, aka the world's best cat. He has been for over 3 weeks now, waking me up at around 3:45 to 4am. He taps at my nose and meows. He does this at 5 minute intervals. Granted I love waking up to see his cute little face but not at that hour. He has a few health issues so needless to say he is spoiled rotten... but he is so cute.

Okay so today I am tired. Luckily I am working from home. I have no idea what I am making for dinner but all I know is that I do not want to run to the store for anything. I look and see that I have potatoes which means I can make gnocchi! I have pancetta and tomatoes and basil which could be the sauce. At lunch I popped the potatoes in the oven to bake. I was finished work by 5:30 and by 7pm we were enjoying a wonderful meal. Chris helped with the sauce, he is better at seasoning things than I am.

So I was looking through La Cucina and all the gnocchi recipes have you boil the potatoes. The recipe I use says to bake them. So that is what I did, it also required less hands on time. The recipe I used is from "From Biba's Italian Kitchen." Biba use to be on the local PBS station and my mom and I use to watch her. My mom gave me her cookbook and actually I think it was the last cookbook she gave me... hmmm. Anyway it is a great cookbook to have in your collection. The recipe is so easy.

Basic Potato Gnocchi

4 large boiling potatoes
1 tbsp salt
1 large egg, beaten in a small bowl
1 1/2 to 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and dry the potatoes. With a knife, make a long, deep incision in the potatoes. Put the potatoes in the oven and bake until they are tender, about 1 hour.

When cool enough to handle, peel potatoes and put them through a potato ricer or mash them with a fork. Put potatoes into a large bowl and season with salt. Add the egg and 1 1/2 cups of flour. Mix the potatoes, egg and the flour together with your hands until the dough begins to stick together.
Transfer the mixture to a wooden board and knead lightly, gradually adding the remaining flour if the dough sticks heavily to the board and to your hands. Knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes until it is smooth and pliable and just a bit sticky. Divide the dough into several equal pieces. Flour your hands lightly, using both hands, roll out each piece of dough with a light back and forth motion into a roll about the thickness of your index finger. Cut each roll into 1-inch pieces.
Hold fork with its tines against a work board, the curved part of the fork facing away from you. Starting from the curved outside bottom of the fork, press each piece of dough with your index finger firmly upward along the length of the tines. Let the gnocchi fall back onto the work surface. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough until all the gnocchi have been formed. Place the gnocchi on a lightly floured platter or cookie sheet. they can be cooked immediately or stored in the refrigerator, uncovered, for several hours.


The sauce was made by heating up some olive oil and adding diced onions and pancetta. Those were browned and then we added a knob of butter, black pepper, tomatoes and basil. The cooked Gnocchi were added to the pan and dinner was served!