Week 80: Pesto Gnocchi Salad

When Abby showed up at my house this afternoon claiming that she was hungry, so we were making something easy and fast, I was on board. Because, really, when do I not want to eat RIGHTTHISMINUTE? Never. Or always. However you look at it.

Anyway, this was a yummy spin on a pasta salad. I always love the chewiness of gnocchi, and the way the pesto/ricotta mixture coated everything was delicious. Abby had printed off a recipe, but we pretty much just did things our own way.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 1/2 STARS

INGREDIENTS

Gnocchi from the refrigerated section of the grocery store (we used some yummy whole-wheat sweet potato variety)
Cherry tomatoes
Fresh baby spinach
1 cup pesto
Part-skim ricotta cheese

DIRECTIONS

Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions. You could, of course, make your own gnocchi from scratch. But then you would probably be showing off. And this is not a task you should attempt when you are already hungry before you even start cooking. Let the gnocchi drain and cool while you work on the rest of the salad.

Quarter the cherry tomatoes.

Cut the spinach into pieces that will fit into a nice bite. I cut ours roughly in half.

In a bowl, mix the pesto with a couple of spoonfuls of ricotta. Toss the gnocchi, tomatoes, and spinach in the pesto mixture. Salt and pepper to taste, and top with a dollop of ricotta.

Week 71: Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi

This recipe for gnocchi intrigued me because it didn't contain any potato. I'm also a huge fan of lemon in pasta, so that always catches my eye.

We had to change the recipe as we went, because the dough was way too sticky with the amount of flour that it called for. The recipe below reflects the recipe as we made it (more or less).

Next I want to try this. Pan-frying gnocchi sounds pretty much like perfection.

I wanted to try to make a light tomato sauce to top the gnocchi. I don't know that it turned out to be very "light," but it sure was yummy, cheap, and easy! Now I'm motivated to try to make more of my own sauce, and to experiment with different flavors.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS
For the gnocchi:
1 1/2 15-oz containers of whole milk ricotta cheese
2 cups of flour (give or take...we just added flour until the dough was easy enough to work with)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg
zest of 2 small-ish lemons

For the sauce:
1 large can crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup red wine
1 large garlic clove, crushed
several basil leaves, roughly chopped
salt to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Start the sauce by just throwing all the ingredients in a large, shallow pot, and allow to simmer while you're working your gnocchi magic.

2. Spread the flour out on a clean, dry work surface. Place the ricotta, salt, black pepper, egg, and zest on top of the flour and lightly knead it with your hands bringing together all the ingredients. Gently knead the dough into an 10-inch log and allow it to rest a few minutes.

2. Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour. Cut the log into four equal pieces. Gingerly, lightly, roll each piece into a 1-inch thick piece of rope. Cut the gnocchi into 1/2-inch pillows.

To Cook: Place gnocchi in boiling salted water. When the gnocchi have floated to the top, allow them to cook for another two minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and serve.