What is Gnocchi?
Gnocchi are small fluffy pillows popularly known as Italian dumplings!
These fluffy pillows are tender and turn out to be super delicious when mixed with herbs and seasonings. Gnocchi are similar to pasta and the main difference between gnocchi and pasta are the ingredients used to prepare each one.
Pasta is made traditionally with wheat flour or semolina and water, rolled into various shapes such as long spaghetti, shells, penne, elbows and bow shaped which are very popular these days. Whereas Gnocchi is made from flour, eggs and potatoes that can be prepared with any kind of sauce such as pesto, white sauce or tomato sauce.
I tried Gnocchi for the very first time at a famous Italian restaurant on my trip to London and it has been on my bucket list since then.
Traditionally, Gnocchi is prepared at home, however these days they are very easily available in the super markets and stores in various flavors like spinach, pesto and many more. Finally, last weekend, a ready pack of gnocchi caught my attention while grocery shopping and I had no excuse to not pick it up !
I have kept this recipe really simple and served this dish with roasted garlic mushrooms and a simple healthy salad.!!
Ingredients:
4 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
250g Gnocchi
100g Cherry Tomatoes
200g Mushrooms
1/2 cup Chopped Parsley
30ml Henderson’s Relish
2tbsp Vegetable Stock Paste
250ml Creme Fraiche or Cream
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
2 tsp Cajun Seasoning
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1tsp Dijon Mustard
1tsp Black Pepper Powder
Salt to taste
Olive Oil for cooking
Method:
Preheat the oven or air fryer to 180 degrees celsius.
Roughly chop the mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.
Line a tray with baking paper and add the chopped mushrooms, sprinkle salt to taste, garlic powder and drizzle some olive oil. Give it a good mix, put it in the oven for 20 minutes until mushrooms are slightly crisp and tender.
Heat a large pan over medium heat, drizzle some olive oil. Once hot, add the Gnocchi and cook for 5-7 minutes until golden and crisp. Once done, transfer it to a plate.
In the same pan, drizzle some olive oil, add crushed garlic, chopped cherry tomatoes and cook until they turn soft.
Once softened, add vegetable stock paste, smoked paprika, cajun seasoning, dijon mustard, henderson’s relish and cream. Cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Once the sauce has thickened, add the gnocchi, chopped parsley, black pepper powder and salt per taste. Stir well and give it a good mix till the gnocchi is coated well.
Gnocchi is now ready. Serve with roast garlic mushrooms and salad of choice.
For the salad:
I have mixed together some roughly cut red cabbage, carrots and cucumber. Added ½ tsp of cider vinegar, black pepper powder and salt to taste.
This recipe makes a perfect family meal and has now become our family favorite. Specially on days when you are short in time and want to prepare something quick yet delicious. One can use alternate ingredients as available to them. I have listed some below.
Tips/Alternate Ingredients:
You can use any kind of mushrooms, I have used chestnut mushrooms for my recipe and roasted them in the air fryer. You could also roast them in a pre-heated oven.
Creme Fraiche can be substituted with Cream and a tsp of cider vinegar, if you wish to avoid sourness, simply exclude cider vinegar.
I have used vegetable stock paste, however you can use 2 cubes of vegetable stock by soaking it in a cup of warm water. Make sure to stir it well before adding it to the recipe.
You can use regular cooking oil if you do not have olive oil at hand.
Gnocchi with Roast Garlic Mushrooms
