Recipes: Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Cherry Tomatoes & Spinach

I love to eat this Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Cherry Tomatoes & Spinach for a quick supper and when I'm stuck for imagination on anything else. Also - as I tend to always have mushrooms and tomatoes in the refridgerator, and frozen spinach in my freezer (and I usually have a pack of gnocchi in my cupboard), it's one of those 'end-of-the-week' meals that can be pulled together when I've almost run out of everything else.

The beauty of this dish is that it looks lovely on a square plate, haha (doesn't all food?) so for presentation marks, it is good for dinner guests (but it is also tasty), and yet you can rustle it together in a matter of 10 minutes. It also tends to please many palates, there's nothing too challenging or weird here, and like many of my recipes - you can get the ingredients in one shop, at your local grocery store.

Be prepared that pan-frying the gnocchi gives it a chewiness, with almost a thin crust on its surface. This is what I really like about it. It kind of adds more bite, and also more flavour.

I have to say, this is more of a 'suggested way' of doing this dish too, rather than a definitive recipe. You can throw things together as you wish, add more of one thing and less of the other, or change the vegetables (and yes, I know tomatoes are a fruit but c'mon, we're not pedants here!) entirely, and it will still come out great. Though for pure presentation value - the red and green contrast of the tomatoes and the spinach works very well.

The main thing is that the gnocchi needs to have some time frying alone, so it can brown. And if you are looking at preparing the dish to keep it pretty, take care to not just bung everything in the one pan. In my recipe, I cook the frozen spinach separately simply by steaming it, and then drape it around the gnocchi and other ingredients. If you add the spinach into the frying pan, it will just turn into a green mess. Which is fine if you don't mind, but I'm a Taurean and we're quite fussy about how our food looks (apparently!).

Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Cherry Tomatoes & Spinach
Serves 2 as a main (4 as a starter)

1 x 500g / 18oz pack of gnocchi (egg-free)

Large handful mushrooms, sliced

12-16 cherry tomatoes

Approx 200g / 1 cup frozen spinach

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil, for frying

1. Cook the gnocchi according to instructions on the pack – usually this is by boiling in water for about 2-4 minutes until it bobs to the top of the pan. Drain.

2. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium to high heat and then add the gnocchi to the pan. Cook by allowing the gnocchi to sit for a few minutes and then shake the pan so it can brown on all sides. Once it has started browning (after about 6-8 minutes) add the garlic, basil, mushrooms and tomatoes.

3. Continue frying all the ingredients for a couple minutes more, until the tomato skins have started splitting and the mushrooms are browning. Meanwhile, steam your spinach in a microwave steamer until properly cooked. If you haven't got a microwave steamer, then heat it in a small saucepan and cook it until hot.

4. Into the frying pan with the gnocchi, add salt and pepper to taste. Then divide the gnocchi between plates and spoon the spinach over the gnocchi. Serve hot! Nutritional yeast sprinkled as a garnish is delicious with this dish.

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Comments

[Angie Chandler]

I LOVED this dish!! Everything was perfect and turned out deliciously!! The only thing I did different was to make a bed of the spinach then put the gnocchi mixture on top rather than the other way around. I will definitely be making this again!!! Very fast and easy! Thank you!!

[Andrea - Chocolate and Beyond]

Thank you so much for letting me know you enjoyed this Angie, it means so much! I'm very happy :)

[Kristina]

I have always wanted to make my own gnocchi (in college I had a job making pasta for an Italian restaurant - haven't made fresh pasta since!) :)

this is my favorite kind of pasta dish - simple and fresh - looks perfect!

[Andrea - Chocolate and Beyond]

Thanks for stopping by to comment Kristina! I too would like to have a go at making my own gnocchi. I tried some raw nut gnocchi in Dubrovnik recent which was amazing, so that's on my list to give it a go at home!