The Recipe Room

These days the gnocchi you can find in the big stores tends to be potato-based. In a future post I might try my hand at making it at home (it’s not something I’ve tried yet!). The combination of iron-rich broccoli, a healthy vegetable if ever there was one, contrasting with the indulgence of dolcelatte, baked to rich, creamy perfection, makes this a winner every time. (Also try this broccoli feta rice recipe.)

This is a great food for the autumn and winter: piping hot, rich and comforting. Cosy up on the couch with your ‘significant other’, and watch a good film. Last time we had this, we watched ‘The Big Sleep’, with Bogie and Bacall, a classic!

Ingredients:

• 250g gnocchi
•  150g broccoli (half a large ‘head’ of broccoli, or most of a smaller one)
•  100g dolcelatte (or other soft blue-veined cheese, e.g. gorgonzola)
•  100ml single cream
•  50g grated Parmesan
•  Salt and pepper

Method:

1 – Heat your oven to 200ºC. Meanwhile bring a large pan of very lightly salted water to the boil (salt reduces the boiling temperature). Cook the broccoli for about three minutes*, till it becomes tender (Since it’s going to be baked as well, don’t overcook it. And watery mushy broccoli isn’t very appetizing!).

2 – Cook the gnocchi in the water you used for the broccoli, as instructed by the packet.

3 – Combine the dolcelatte, cream and half the grated Parmesan, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper, and pour into a casserole (or other ovenproof) dish. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top.

4 – Bake for between 10-20 minutes, until the top is golden, and the sauce bubbles.

* If you want to save a few minutes and feel a bit clever at the same time, you can steam the broccoli over the boiling water. This should take about four minutes. After the broccoli has steamed for two minutes, lift off the steamer, pop the gnocchi into the water, and replace. The gnocchi should cook in two minutes (you know it’s ready when it floats), and meanwhile the broccoli will have cooked atop it.

 Serves: 2

 Total time: 40 minutes (10 minutes preparation; 30 minutes cooking)

Tags: baked dolcelatte and broccoli gnocchi, broccoli, dolcelatte, gnocchi, gorgonzola, Italian food, Parmesan, pasta, single cream

This entry was posted on Tuesday, 19 June, 2012 at 4:04 pm by Gianluca Dievole and is filed under Less than 1 hour, Main Courses, Meal for 2 people. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed RSS 2.0. You can leave a comment, or make a trackback from your own blog.