Gnocchi with Bacon and Peas in a Cream Sauce

All I could think about the other day was how I was so sick of the ideal that you need to eat 'light and healthy' during the summer. Not that I don't eat light and healthy most of the time, and not to say that I don't enjoy taking advantage of the plethora of fresh fruits and veggies that are available during the summer, but all I know is this dish (which is SOOO not light and healthy) hit the spot the other day. Hope it helps satisfy a craving for someone else out there...

Gnocchi with Bacon and Peas in a Cream Sauce

Ingredients
1 package pre-made gnocchi
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion
2 large cloves garlic
3 strips of bacon or pancetta
¼ cup chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup of frozen peas
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Prep some of the ingredients: Peel and dice the onions into medium sized pieces. Mince the garlic and cut the bacon into 1" to 1-½" strips. Thaw the peas anyway you like and grate the Parmesan.


2. Heat up a large pot of salted water for cooking the gnocchi. Don't add the gnocchi quite yet, but get the water boiling so it is ready to go.


3. Heat your saute pan over medium-high heat to get it hot. Add the oil and butter to the pan; when the butter is melted and hot, add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and continue sautéing for another minute.


4. Add the bacon (or pancetta) and cook for 3 – 4 minutes until the bacon doesn’t have that white fatty look any more. You don’t want the bacon crisp, just cooked through. Pancetta will take slightly less time to cook than bacon.


5. Add the chicken stock to deglaze the pan, stirring up any of the bacon bits that may be sticking to the pan. Add the cream and then the peas. Simmer for 3 – 4 minutes and you will notice the sauce start to thicken.


6. Right after you add the cream, add the gnocchi to the boiling water. They will only take a few minutes to cook and will float to the top of the water when they are ready. Drain and set aside.


7. Once the sauce starts to thicken, add the Parmesan cheese and nutmeg and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the drained gnocchi and stir gently to coat the gnocchi with sauce.


8. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.

Lemon Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas

Servings: 4

This is a great, flavorful dish that is so easy to make it's unbelievable! And it only takes about 20 minutes!

To give credit where credit is due, I got this from Gourmet's website but wanted to share it with you because even though I am not a fan of peas, they fit very well into this dish. The sweetness of the peas counteracts the tartness of the lemon and the saltiness of the sauce.

1 cup frozen baby peas (not thawed)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes, adjust for your level of heat.
1 garlic clove, smashed
3 cups packed baby spinach (3 oz)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1 /2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 lb dried gnocchi (preferably De Cecco)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

In a large pot, add gnocchi to boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) and cook until al dente (5-8 minutes). Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain gnocchi.

In a 12-in heavy skillet, simmer peas with cream, red-pepper flakes, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until tender, about 5 minutes. 1/4 tsp of dried red pepper flakes gives a pretty decent amount of heat to this dish (not spicy, but just enough to leave your tongue tingling) so I would reduce it if you are not a fan of spicier foods.

Add spinach to the pea mixture and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until wilted. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest and juice. The cream and lemon juice will react and form a thick sauce.

Add gnocchi and the cheese to the pan with the sauce, if needed add some of the reserved cooking water and stir to coat. Thin sauce with additional cooking water if necessary.

As a quick note, if you are making this for yourself or planning on having leftovers, I would add 1-2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid to the container with the leftovers. This dish reheats in a pan over medium heat (10 minutes) and the extra liquid keeps it from drying out while it is being reheated.

I haven't tried it yet (so don't hold me to it..unless it does actually taste good) but I could picture this dish tasting great with some cooked and sliced sweet Italian sausage thrown into the mix...next time!