Knock out Gnocchi

Jane and Nancy came over for dinner last night and I made this fabulous gnocchi dish that I found in EatingWell Magazine. I couldn't find my actual magazine, but fortunately I did find the recipe on-line. I made a couple of adjustments (added sun-dried tomatoes, used unseasoned tomatoes and added my own basil and oregano seasoning). It's great. I was told that it should be in next year's cookbook ~ in the meantime, I'll put it here.

This is such a great recipe: it is very easy to cook (even after a couple of glasses of wine), goes down like true comfort food, and after the prep work is done it comes together very quickly. I prepped everything ahead of time and then, after appetizers were finished, cooked the dish while Jane, Nancy and Gabi hung out with me in the kitchen, laughing, drinking wine and telling stories. It was a lovely evening.

A few small points to make about the recipe (especially after reading the comments left on the site): First, be sure to use shelf-stable gnocchi, not dried or frozen. Shelf-stable means that it comes in a plastic vacuum pack and isn't dried. This is important.

Secondly, the original recipe suggests that you could use spinach in place of the chard. I haven't tried it, but my instinct would recommend against it. Spinach is too mild and breaks down too much when cooked, and you need something with enough flavor and substance to stand up to the rest of the ingredients, in both flavor and texture. 

Which brings me to the cheese: if you can, I'd highly recommend using good Parmesan that you grate yourself. I've made it with pre-grated cheese ~ and "better quality" cheese in the refrigerated section at that ~ but the flavor loss shows. A few of the reviews on the web site criticized the recipe for having a bland flavor. Boxed and/or pre-shredded Parmesan cheese, spinach, or frozen/dried gnocchi that has to be parboiled before skillet frying will all contribute blandness instead of flavor. 

Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans

From EatingWell Magazine, Jan/Feb 2009

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oil from oil-packed sun dried tomatoes

1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

4-5 sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup water

6 cups cleaned, chopped chard leaves (about 1 small bunch)

1 15-ounce can petite-diced tomatoes, juice included

1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and the onion to the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic, sun dried tomatoes, and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chard and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1-2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans, basil, oregano and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the gnocchi and sprinkle with cheeses. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.

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Pic credits: I did not take the above pic (although my dish did turn out just this pretty. The pic is from the EatingWell web site.