The hubby and I don’t eat many pasta dishes. Not that I don’t love pasta…I absolutely do…I just love other carbs more. Like dessert and bread and desserts and fruit and veggies…did I already mention desserts? I will even make spaghetti squash and use that in dishes before I make pasta noodles. Not to mention that I always seem to fill up quickly when I eat pasta and then am hungry a short while later…so, we usually skip the pasta. Except in this dish!
I first made this concoction for my husband years ago and we probably have it at least once a month. And each time it’s just a little different, depending on what we have in the fridge. Sometime we use rotisserie chicken instead of the sausage if that’s what we have. I’ve even used kale instead of spinach because we had some that needed to be used. This time we had some spicy turkey sausage left over from another dish and then my husband said…let’s add some bacon because we have some…and I said, well of course we should add bacon! So we did. Needless to say…you can get creative and add different veggies and meat…even leave the meat out for a delicious vegetarian dish…and find the combinations that you like best. Enjoy!
There are a few keys to successfully creating this dish. One is to make sure all of your “mixins” (aka meat and veggies) are cooked through before mixing with the sauce. The second, and perhaps the most important, is the sauce. You want the sauce to be creamy so you make a light roux but you don’t want the final product not to have any sauce so you don’t want to cook it down too much on the stove. Also, the gnocchi will absorb a lot of the liquid when it cooks in the oven (since you add it uncooked) so you want the sauce to be thinner than what you’d want it to be upon serving.
I used white pepper in this dish just because I like the sauce to be white and not speckled with black bits. Of course, if you don’t have it, black pepper is perfectly fine. I used spicy turkey sausage because I love the flavor it adds but, again, you can add whatever your favorite meat is.
Serve with a side Cesar Salad and you have a delicious, hearty weeknight meal that’s sure to find a permanent place in your meal rotation!
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20-25 minutes |
| Servings |
|
- 4 slices of bacon [cut into 1/2-inch pieces]
- 12 oz spicy turkey sausage
- 8 ounces white mushrooms [sliced]
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 4 oz baby spinach
- 2 cloves garlic [minced]
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- kosher salt
- White pepper
- 1 package potato gnocchi [approximately 17.5 ounces]
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Ingredients
|
|
- Mise en place: Preheat to 425 degrees F. In a deep ovenproof skillet, cook the bacon. While the bacon is cooking, chop your veggies, shred the cheese and get everything else together. Once the bacon is fully cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel to drain; pour out the excess grease from the pan. There should be a coating of grease left over in the pan to cook the veggies with.
- Cook the sausage and veggies: Over medium-high heat, add the turkey sausage to the same pan the bacon was cooked in and use a potato masher or wooden spoon to break the meat apart into small pieces. Once the meat is almost completely cooked, add the onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are lightly browned and the onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Then add the spinach and garlic and continue cooking until the spinach is wilted and there is no pink left in the meat. Transfer everything to a bowl and set aside.
- Make the sauce: In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, whisking, for about 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and chicken broth until smooth; simmer, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon salt, the nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper.
- Finish it off: Add the sausage/veggie mixture into the sauce along with the bacon and gnocchi. Stir everything together until well combined and the gnocchi is all covered and submerged in the white sauce. Evenly sprinkle the parmesan over the top and transfer the skillet/pan to the oven and bake until bubbling and the top begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Once complete, remove to the counter and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving, allowing the sauce to cool slightly and thicken. Can sprinkle with chopped parsley or more parmesan cheese, if desired.
Published by