Gnocchi For Lazy People

I love gnocchi.

The best gnocchi I ever ate was at the Butcher Shop in the South End. Typically it is served with a tomato-meat sauce, but sometimes I cannot stand meat sauce so they very kindly made it with just a little basil, some garlic, and a scrape or two of cheese.

With a glass of wine it was sheer heaven.

The worst I ever ate was in Nice with my Mom the afternoon after her Dad (my beloved Pepe) died. The gnocchi were gluey and the wine mediocre, although it could have also been due to the fact that I was already choked up on sorrow. I later threw it all up in the Galleries Lafayette bathrooms to the sympathetic horror of the Madame attendant.

Never say die however!

Nowadays when I want a quick & totally satisfying meal I make gnocchi the lazy way.

1. Heat up a little olive oil in a pan

2. When the oil is hot toss in a handful of frozen Gem Potato Gnocchi (they're sold at Whole Foods, in the freezer section, duh. Gem is located in Rhode Island and their products are terrific)

3. Also toss in some garlic and basil - I use the frozen cubes I get at Trader Joe's. If you use fresh, just put the garlic in at this point.

4. Shake and gently toss until they are golden brown.

5. Put on a plate and if you are using fresh basil, chop it and sprinkle it all over. A few grates of cheese would be good too I think. And also a little sea salt and some pepper.

Sometimes I will dump in half a can of chopped tomatoes, but you might want to drain them first. And yes, use the gnocchi straight from the freezer.

The best thing is that this dish is fast, easy, delicious, and if you are REALLY lazy you can eat it with the spatula out of the pan, thereby only using two kitchen items!

Let me know if you try it.

Comments

Devilham said…
How's that work not pre-boiling the gnocchi??!!?? I love gnocchi and would order most anytime I see it on a menu. A thousand years ago when I was a child, La Pinochia Venezia (spelling?) used to not be awful, and I got gnocchi their that changed the way I thought about food practically, and it was not in meat sauce, just a simple marinara with basil and parm.....so good.
Annabelle B. said…
Joe Horn: I love choux pastry gnocchi! But in the winter when it isn't 7000 degrees in my kitchen.

devilham: Believe it or not I throw the frozen gnocchi straight into the hot oil and they seem to cook through pretty quickly. Like I said, gnocchi for lazy folk. I am so lazy sometimes, boiling water is a chore!

Popular posts from this blog

You should be eating: Braised Chicken Meatballs

Eastah Scorchah

Aggressive coffee.