By Melissa Clark, The New York Times
Maybe it’s because I grew up on small, chewy matzo balls rather than big, fluffy ones. Or perhaps it’s my adult penchant for mochi, boba and spaetzle. But given a choice, I’ll take a dense, elastic texture over an airy, cloudlike one almost every time.
So, it’s not surprising that I have an outsize love for shelf-stable supermarket gnocchi.
Canonically, properly made gnocchi are fluffy and light, holding their shape just long enough to dissolve into a savory billow as they hit your tongue.
Shelf-stable gnocchi, on the other hand, are compact and firm, more like what the Italian word gnoccho originally meant, as Marcella Hazan will tell you.
In what has become a bible of Italian cuisine, “The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking,” she describes a gnoccho as “a little lump, such as the one that might be raised by sharply knocking your head against a hard object.” Yet gastronomically speaking, she declares, “gnocchi should be anything but lumpish.”
This may be true when it comes to making gnocchi from scratch. But toss those shelf-stable lumps in oil, then roast or pan-fry them until their edges turn brown and crisp and their insides molten and chewy, and heretical though it may be, that’s my idea of perfect gnocchi.
Crispy shelf-stable gnocchi are obviously quicker to make than homemade. Since they’ve already been par-cooked, you don’t even have to boil them. Just transfer the dumplings from the package to a pan and turn up the heat.
I go the sheet-pan route in this recipe, roasting gnocchi alongside Italian sausages (you can use pork, poultry or plant-based) and sweet bell peppers to make a rich, savory one-pan meal. I also add a handful of cherry tomatoes to melt in the pan with everything else for a juicy element that’s almost like a sauce. A mix of hues for the tomatoes and peppers would make for a bright, colorful dish, which is especially welcome this leafless time of year.
The dish is hearty and satisfying enough to serve on its own, though spooning it on top of a bed of arugula or baby spinach would lighten everything and bolster the vegetable content.
Either way, that chewy-crisp texture is my gnocchi ideal. If that’s so wrong, then I’m more than happy to take my lumps.
Sheet-Pan Gnocchi With Sausages and Peppers
By Melissa Clark
Roasting gnocchi on a sheet pan gives the potato dumplings an irresistible, chewy-crisp texture with lovely browned edges. Here, the gnocchi are cooked with sausage and peppers, the classic sandwich combination, to make a rich and very savory one-pan meal. A handful of cherry tomatoes melt in the pan alongside everything else, adding a juicy element that’s almost like a sauce. Hearty and satisfying, this dish needs no accompaniment, though spooning it on top of a bed of arugula or baby spinach would add even more vegetables to the mix.
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Total time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes, more for serving (optional)
- 1 (14- to 18-ounce) package shelf-stable gnocchi
- 1 large yellow or red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausages, pricked with a fork
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or parsley
Preparation
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and chile flakes. Add gnocchi, onion, peppers and tomatoes, and toss well. Spread evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet. Nestle the sausages among the vegetables.
3. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring everything and flipping the sausages after 15 minutes, until the sausages are cooked through and the vegetables and gnocchi are golden brown.
4. Top with Parmesan and basil. Sprinkle more chile flakes if you like. Serve warm.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.