I’m certainly not the first person to pair gnocchi with peas, parmesan and herbs, but it was such a great combination that I had to share it here in case you haven’t tried it yet. I made gnocchi the day before with vodka sauce and it was AWFUL. Like so bad I couldn’t finish it so I tried again with an even easier take on the sauce.. garlic and herbs all day in this house. I was able to put this all together in less than twenty minutes, which means it’s the perfect ‘I don’t wanna cook, but I want a nice warm meal’ type of dish. If you’re vegan, leave out the parmesan and maybe substitute in some toasted pine nuts. You’ll also have to replace the butter, but that’s an easy one.
First things first, gnocchi is one of those hard-to-pronounce words. Even though I know it’s nyawk-kee, I tend to say nok-ee because I’m shy and if I’m going to screw it up I want to screw it up in an American way not in an American trying to pronounce Italian words correctly type of way. Capiche? Second, I didn’t make fresh gnocchi, I bought this stuff, which is why this meal only took twenty minutes to cook. Personally, I love it. I also love going to an authentic Italian restaurant and ordering fresh gnocchi, but I can’t always swing that. Third, NEVER fry gnocchi no matter how much you want to. Stick with tater tots if you want a fried little potato nugget. I never planned on frying it, but this video almost made me want to try. Please watch that video. Steve’s laughter is infectious. Ok, now we can get down to business. You’re probably wasting precious dinner-cooking time reading this post.
Ingredients
- 1 package of gnocchi (cooked to box's instruction in heavily salted water)
- 4 tablespoons butter (you could always sub coconut oil or olive oil, but sometimes butter really is best)
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
- 2 teaspoons dry sage or 10-15 roughly chopped fresh sage leaves (I used dry)
- 2 cups peas (I used frozen!)
- Parmesan to taste
Instructions
- Set a pot of heavily salted water to boil.
- Melt the butter over low heat in a deep nonstick frying pan. Your cooked gnocchi will eventually go in this pan so make sure it's big enough.
- Using a garlic press, crush your cloves straight into the melting butter. Add the sage and a dash of salt and pepper.
- By this time your water should be boiling. Add the gnocchi and cook it according to the directions on the package.
- If you're using fresh peas, cook them. If you're using frozen, thaw them stealing a bit of boiling water from the gnocchi pot. Simply add a cup or two of boiling water over your frozen peas, let sit for a couple minutes and then drain.
- By this time the garlic should be brown, the gnocchi finished, and your stomach growling. Drain the gnocchi and add it to the garlic, herb and butter sauce. Add the peas and give everything a stir. Sneak a taste and add more sage, pepper and salt if need be.
- Transfer to a serving dish and top with as much parmesan as you please.
Easy as that. This is one of those meals that you can cook even if you are completely terrified of the kitchen. If your partner’s parents are coming over and you want to impress them, but you have to work all day, make this! Really. I say that, but I didn’t actually make it for anyone.. I made it for myself and I was completely impressed so there you have it. It is filling, but not heavy. Pair it with a simple salad and some crusty bread and you have a full blown let’s actually sit at the table tonight kind of dinner. It seems like is a simple recipe, but the flavors combine into a perfectly tasty bite every time. So go, go cook something easy and sit down sooner and thank me later 😉