Butter Me Up!

Last night I was hungry, but didn't feel like going to any major effort to get some food in my head.... it's been a loooong week.  So I went to the store and roamed the aisles looking for inspiration.  I found it in a package of fresh potato and ricotta gnocchi.  I make my own (and sweet potato gnocchi - yum!), but I just didn't have the energy for that, so I broke my "no packaged food" rule - fitting perfectly in my 80/20 rule.  The 80/20 rule is that 80% of the time I eat right (real, healthy, whole foods), so that 20% of the time when I veer off track, I don't have to beat myself up.

Maybe it's the time of year, maybe it's the simplicity that I was looking for, but either way, I was going to really work that 80/20 rule with a Sage-Brown Butter Sauce.  When I posted the picture of my dinner on facebook, I got a huge hit of "likes" immediately....everyone loves butter, apparently! Duh.

This is such a great quick weeknight fix...I think once the water was boiling, it took about 5 minutes to get dinner on the table.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and toss in the gnocchi.  When they float to the top, they're done.  Get them out with a slotted spoon, and save the cooking liquid in case you want a little starchy water for your sauce.  I use this approach whenever I cook pasta.

I grow sage in my backyard, so I plucked about 8 leaves for my sauce.  You can put them in whole, which looks pretty, but I like to run a knife through them, rough chop, to release even more of that earthy sage flavor.

Melt a stick of butter (I know, it hurts me a little bit to write that, but once in a while it won't kill you) in a large skillet and add the sage leaves.  When the butter is sizzling, add walnuts or pecans, and continue cooking a few minutes until butter starts to brown and nuts get lightly toasted.

Add the gnocchi to the skillet and toss it in the lovely sauce.  I added a little bit of chopped spinach (trying to make me feel better about all the butter!) and then topped it all with a tiny bit of gorgonzola.  I can hear the leftovers calling my name.

Oh come on, you know you want to.....

 

Gnocchi in Sage Brown Butter Sauce
Serves 2-3

12 oz. fresh gnocchi
1 stick unsalted butter
8-10 sage leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
2 cups chopped baby spinach
2 tablespoons crumbled gorgonzola
Salt & pepper to taste.

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. (Pasta water should taste like the sea.)
• Add gnocchi.  When they float to the top, they are done; just a few minutes.  Remove from pot,
• Meanwhile melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. 
• Add sage.
• When butter begins to sizzle, add nuts and stir to coat with butter.
• When butter begins to brown, after about 2-3 minutes, add cooked gnocchi and spinach.
• Stir until spinach is wilted.
• Remove from heat, top with gorgonzola and season to taste with salt and pepper.

You can thank me later......

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

I know it's not really sweet potato season, but I had a class the other night and we got to talking about my teaching a gnocchi class.  Potato gnocchi is yummy, but sweet potato gnocchi will have you breaking up with that old spud in favor of this delicious substitute.

The other change is that I don't like to boil my gnocchi; I pan fry it in a little olive oil or coconut oil.  It creates a lovely,crispy brown shell around the pillowy sweet potato.  As long as I'm breaking the rules, I also like serving it with a light coconut curry sauce.  I'm not really a big fan of tomato-based sauces, though I make a mean marinara and an even meaner pizza sauce.  I gravitate toward cream sauces, but since they can be a "middle killer", I try to find ways to lighten them up.  "Don't trust a skinny chef" only works with restaurant dining, when you want to splurge and don't care about the consequences of one night out.  If you're trying to be healthy, then you should probably go for a chef with a little less meat on her bones!

If you've never tried gnocchi before, don't be intimidated.  It's easy, albeit a little messy.  I haven't taught a gnocchi class in nearly a year, because after the last one, I was finding little reminders of the class for months (gnocchi dough is a sticky little bugger).  But if you aren't making it with 8 other people, you should be fine!

First bake the potatoes and when cool enough to handle, mash the flesh in a bowl with ricotta, garlic, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Slowly add flour until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms. Create the little dough balls (see the recipe below) and press the tines of a fork into one side.  When all are ready, place them in a single layer in a hot skillet coated with olive oil (coconut oil is yummy, too, if you have it).  Only takes about 5 minutes.  The perfect amount of time to make your sauce (recipe below).  Oh yeah, and it's a no-cook sauce.  Got to love that on a hot night!

When gnocchi are perfectly browned, plate and top with sauce (go ahead and use marinara, but you'll be missing out on this tasty combo with my coconut sauce....trust me, remember?). Garnish with sliced scallions.....so pretty. So yummy.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Serves 6-8

2 pounds sweet potatoes

2/3 cup whole milk ricotta

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 clove minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1-1 1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour, plus 1/3 cup for the work surface

·         Preheat the oven to 425°

·         Pierce the sweet potato with a fork. Bake until tender and fully cooked, 40- 55 minutes.

·          Cool slightly. Cut in half and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Mash the sweet potatoes.

·         Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes back to the large bowl. Add the ricotta, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic and pepper, blending until well mixed.

·         Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms.

·         Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. Roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope.

·         Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer the formed gnocchi to a large baking sheet. Continue with the remaining gnocchi. 

• Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.   When oil is hot, add gnocchi in a single layer, working in batches, turning to crisp each side, approximately 5 minutes total.

Coconut Curry Sauce

½  cup coconut milk

½  teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½  teaspoon turmeric

pinch cayenne

3 tablespoon lime juice

3 scallions, greens only, thinly sliced or ¼ cup chopped chives

Whisk all ingredients, except scallions, in a bowl.  When gnocchi is ready to serve, toss with coconut curry sauce and top with scallions.