Thursday, August 6, 2009

Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

This is actually the second time I have made this dish, but the first time I completely forgot to photograph it. It's a great, light summer dish that comes together quickly and uses a bunch of fresh, in-season produce. I loved how juicy the cherry tomatoes got when I cooked them. The sauce is primarily made with the pasta water but flavored with some cheese and butter, so it ends up a lot more appetizing than it may sound. You could also top this with a quick marinara sauce.

Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables
source: Everyday Food via Proceed with Caution

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 zucchini or summer squash or one of each, quartered and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
course salt and ground pepper
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 package (15-16 ounces) gnocchi
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese (I used Parmesan.)
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation
1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high. Add squash and garlic to skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is crisp-tender, 4-5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 2 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi according to package instructions. Reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid, drain gnocchi and transfer to skillet. Toss gnocchi, adding enough cooking liquid to create a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in basil, cheese, butter, and lemon juice.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This looks great. I plan on making ricotta gnocchi this weekend, so maybe I'll use this recipe to highlight that pasta.

Jenna said...

Hey there, this is Jenna from SparkPeople. Just wanted to stop by and say that I made this dish for dinner a couple weeks ago, and it was delicious! I didn't mind that it was simple...it made for a nice light spring/summer dish! Thanks for sharing this recipe, and I look forward to trying some more from your posts!