Potato #gnocchi is a great side dish, but what about having a the main dish. Now, let’s rethink how to make these delicious bites of billowy cloud-like morsels. The traditional way to cook them is to drop them into boiling salted water. when they float to the surface they are done. When you cook with Asian dumplings they are sometimes pan fried first to give that crunchy exterior, then a splash of water is added, the lid placed on the pot to steam them the rest of the way. This way of making them allows for a crunchy exterior, yet still having a soft and creamy texture on the inside. So I decided to give it a try. I wanted to see how this method would work so I decided to buy a good “store bought” brand to see how they would turn out.It turns out that my grocery store offers a vacuumed sealed package of fresh potato gnocchi that you can find in the isle where the dried pasta is sold. They were fantastic! I started by dicing up 1/4 each of a yellow and red bell pepper. I diced them in a very small dice. I then grated 2 garlic cloves and placed the garlic into a small bowl and set it aside for a minute. In a saute pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, on med heat, I sauteed the diced bell peppers with 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt, 1/2 a teaspoon of black pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. About a minuted into the sauteing of the peppers, I added in the grated garlic, stirred that around for just a minute, then removed the pan from the heat. I just wanted to soften and flavor the diced bell peppers. This whole process only took a total of three minutes.
Next, in a very large saute pan I melted 1 stick of unsalted butter on med heat. Once the butter had melted, I then added in the entire package of gnocchi. I let them sit in the hot butter for about 2 minutes before taking a peek at one of them on the underside. Once I saw that it had caramelized on the one side, using a spatula, I flipped them over to the other side. I let them go on the other side for just a minute longer giving that side a chance to caramelize. At that point, I added back in the diced peppers with the garlic and seasoning to the pot. I tossed that through, then added in 1/4 cup of water. Immediately after adding in the water, the steam came up from the pan, and I placed a tight fitting lid on. Once I saw all the water had evaporated, I turned the heat off and removed the pan from that burner. I transferred all the gnocchi from the pan into a serving bowl and immediately added some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh chopped Italian flat leaf parsley.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time Total: 10 minutes ( this includes the sauteing of the pepper and the gnocchi)
Yields: 2-4 servings ( depends if your serving as a side or an entree)
Ingredients:
1/4 each of red and yellow bell pepper, small dice.
2 grated garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1/2 a teaspoon of black pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes ( more if you like it spicy)
1 package of potato gnocchi
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (more if you like)
Flat leaf Italian parsley for garnish
Directions: First saute the diced bell peppers on med heat in the olive oil. Add in the grated garlic and seasonings. This next stage goes pretty fast. In a large saute pan, on med heat, melt the butter. Once the butter has melted add the entire package of gnocchi. Brown the gnocchi on the one side for a couple of minutes without disturbing them so they will caramelize. Once that’s happened, flip them over using a spatula. Let them saute for another minute or so on the other side. Add in the sauteed veggies, toss through. Next, add the water to the pan, this will cause steam to happen, then place a tight fitting lid on immediately and let them steam until all the water has evaporated. Remove from heat. Place the gnocchi in a serving bowl. Then grate the cheese over the top and garnish with the Italian parsley.
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