After a long work week, I'm always in the mood to indulge in some good ol' fashioned comfort food. And because I had a package of John's Ravioli gnocchi (started in Corona, Queens), I wanted to put it to good use and create a homemade sauce to coat its beautiful ridges.
Spotting an enticing recipe for Gnocchi Carbonara on the Simply Delicious blog, it inspired me to recreate it with my own spin. Instead of bacon, I substituted in crispy cubes of pancetta that I rendered down, along with a mixture of fat free half and half (I know...that sounds like heresy), eggs and a mixture of romano, asiago and parmesan cheese. The whole thing took about 15 minutes to make, which was totally awesome, and I just loved watching the sauce turn into thick, creamy, cheesy goodness. The eggs cooked in a matter of seconds and served as a thickening agent for the already velvety sauce.
Once the sauce was done (less than 2 minutes), I mixed in the gnocchi and let it sit for about a minute or two. Embellishing this already delightful mixture with some fresh herbs such as freshly chopped parsley is always a good idea. Fresh basil would be nice too. Bon appetit, friends!
Gnocchi Carbonara recipe, as adapted from the Simply Delicious blog.
I had quite the culinary dilemma today, as I got home late from work, had to do more work at home and eat somewhere in between too. Another issue was that I had absolutely nothing good in the house, and had no time to grab my favorite take-out. On the verge of being extremely grumpy (no doubt influenced by my hunger), I started to really rack my brain for what we had in the fridge and whether I really could create something out of nothing. "Tomatoes, blue cheese, garlic, parsley...Hmmm...," it was definitely enough to work with. I also remembered I had some store bought gnocchi in my pantry that could certainly go well with those ingredients.
I first started to chop my tomatoes, then some red onion I found in the fridge too. Next came the garlic and wha la, I was on my way to making a homemade tomato sauce. Getting another idea to further reduce this sauce with good quality red wine that we also had on hand, I created a rich, earthy reduction that tasted like it took hours to prepare (but actually only too about 10 minutes).
Finishing the dish off with crumbled blue cheese, fresh parsley and toasted pepitas, it was really an exceptional surprise. I was pretty proud of myself to create it on the fly like that, and after the long day I had, I guess I needed some unabashed self-encouragement. Here's the recipe:
Fooditka's Last Minute Emergency Gnocchi:
Ingredients (serves 2)
1 package of store bought gnocchi (frozen or dry)
2 1/2 medium roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 sweet red onion, diced
2 small garlic cloves, diced
Small handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Handful of crumbled blue cheese
Generous handful of toasted pepitas
1/4 cup of red wine or two generous glugs
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Cook gnocchi according to the directions on the packaging.
Pre-heat a non-stick medium skillet and coat it with olive oil (about 1 1/2 tbs or eyeball it). Let the oil get really hot and then drop in your onions and garlic. Let cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes and keep stirring it so it doesn't burn.
Lower the heat and add the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Keep stirring occasionally. Lower the heat and add your wine, letting it reduce for a few minutes (about 5 minutes).
Combine the cooked gnocchi with a little pasta water, if needed to thin it out. Garnish with fresh parsley, cheese and pepitas, and freshly ground black pepper.
I'll start with the first part of my obsession, which is a fabulous site called Gojee I discovered just through browsing through the Google Chrome store. I simply love it, as first off, it's picture based and is a fabulous aggregation of all different food blogs. You simply type in the ingredients you're craving, and it does the picking for you. I was amazed at all the enticing food images it produced when I typed in "arugula" and the one that most immediately caught my eye was one for ricotta & spinach gnocchi (with arugula too, of course).
I clicked on the recipe link, which led me to a lovely blog called "fresh 365." The recipe not only seemed doable, but was explained in a friendly, approachable way that immediately inspired me to get to work. If the thought of making your own gnocchi intimidates you, this recipe will no doubt change your tune. It's not incredibly labor intensive, uses healthy and readily available ingredients, and not to mention it's absolutely superior to the store bought alternative.
As I made a pretty big batch that can feed about 3 or 4 hungry people, I froze most of my gnocchi and ended up cooking it later in the week. It was a sound approach and a fabulous way to get dinner on the table in about 5 minutes. Serving it on a bed of fresh spinach (or arugula if you want), I seasoned it simply with olive oil and pepper and put some shredded pecorino cheese on top too. Delish is an understatement. Go gojee, thanks for showing me the way!
Recipe for Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi
As a result of my amazing trip to Tuscany last week, I was inspired to use the cooking knowledge I gained from Pat and translate it to my everyday cooking routine. This proved pretty fortuitous thus far, as the cooking we practiced in Tuscany was simple and used fresh ingredients, which consisted mostly of produce. I added in some starch too, for a more filling result, and a dish that was once a salad in Pat's kitchen, turned into a gnocchi variation in mine.
I loved the use of the licoricey fennel in this dish, coupled with sweet, juicy oranges that were cut into bite-sized chunks. Tweaks were made of course, as I dulled out the sharpness of the fennel by sauteeing it for a few minutes together with garlic, instead of serving it raw, like in the salad. For some creamy tang, I also added a few crumbles of good quality goat cheese and for the greens, I used fresh basil instead of parsley.
Here's my refurbished recipe:
Fennel Orange Gnocchi a la Foodista by way of Tasty Tuscany
Ingredients (serves 2)
1 package of whole wheat gnocchi (I used Trader Joe's brand)
1 whole fennel bulb, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 clove of garlic, pressed or minced
1 fresh orange, cut into bite-sized cubes
A small handful of basil, rolled and then cut into thin pieces
A shake of red pepper flakes
Olive oil
Glug of good marsala wine
Salt to taste
Directions:
Cook gnocchi according to directions.
Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium heat. You can mix in a little bit of butter too if you have it, but use unsalted butter. Add the garlic and make sure to stir frequently to make sure it doesn't burn. Add the fennel and mix frequently until it gets a nice golden color (the fennel shouldn't get too soft though). Incorporate the salt and red pepper flakes and keep mixing for another minute or two. Then add the marsala wine and turn down the heat so the sauce thickens a bit.
Stir in the gnocchi and a little bit of gnocchi water too, to thin out the sauce, if needed. Mix in the orange cubes and basil. Stir well and spoon into bowls. Crumble the goat cheese on top at the end so it melts in nicely with the still hot gnocchi. If you don't love goat cheese, you can substitute, pecorino, mozzarella - or any other cheese of your choice. Buon appetito.
