Rustic Spinach Gnocchi

Fall is here, and though my menu hasn't taken a complete 180 toward soups and stews just yet, I do find myself in the mood for something warm and comforting a lot lately.

Enter the gnocchi - a rustic potato dumpling pasta that's satisfying all year round. I decided to lighten mine up with some greenage.


Rustic Spinach Gnocchi with 10-Minute Marinara
(yield: 4-5 servings)
 

1, 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed
2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled & cut into medium dice
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 of a small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups (16 oz) crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup basil leaves, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste
3 oz goat cheese

Place potatoes into a medium pot filled with cold water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to low simmer, and cook 12-14 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and Transfer to a large bowl. Drain the thawed spinach, squeezing out every last drop of water, and add to potatoes. While the potatoes are still warm, mash together with the spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool slightly, and mix in the egg. Begin to incorporate 1 cup of the flour, until a dough forms and ceases to stick to your fingers. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Make the Marinara Sauce: Warm a saucepan over medium-low heat, and add olive oil. Add onions and garlic to the pan, and sweat 2-3 minutes. Place crushed tomatoes and basil into the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, and use either an immersion blender or potato masher to smooth out any chunks of tomato that remain.

Roll the dough: Working with 1 piece of dough at a time (keep the rest refrigerated in the meantime). Flour your work surface and hands with some of the remaining flour, and gently roll the dough with the palms of your hands to form a long cylinder, about 1 inch thick. Cut the cylinder into 1-inch pieces, adjusting the shape of the gnocchi with your fingers. Repeat with remaining dough. Place gnocchi into a large pot of boiling, salted water. You may have to cook them in batches so as not to overcrowd the pot. Cook 3-4 minutes, until they begin to float. Drain gnocchi and toss with the marinara sauce. Crumble some goat cheese over the top, and dig in.

Blue Cheese Smashed Potatoes

1 lb baby Yukon Gold potatoes
3 tbsp Blue Cheese
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 scallions, chopped

Place potatoes into a medium pot, and top with cold water. Bring to a boil, and simmer until potatoes are fork tender, 13-15 minutes. Drain.

While potatoes are still hot, combine with Blue Cheese and sour cream using a potato masher. Season with salt and pepper, and mix in the scallions.

The Almighty Tater

In my opinion, the potato was a gift from up above. Though it wasn’t exactly the greatest looking or smelling fellow from the get-go, once our predecessors figured out what to do with it, man did it take over. Aside from being one of America’s most popular crops, potatoes are versatile as heck. The ultimate side dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner, spuds seem to have most people salivating just thinking about them.

I happen to like potatoes because they’re easy. Yeah, I said it. When I need to get lunch or dinner on the table pronto or when I unexpectedly end up with a swarm of hungry people in my house, it is none other than the potato that saves the day. They cook in no time and they’re a guaranteed success (unless you undercook them, don’t undercook them). Think about it, have you ever met anyone that didn’t like a potato? Me neither.

With the help of characters like butter, cheese, sour cream, bacon, etc. it’s unsurprising why many seem to forget that the potato is in fact a vegetable with lots of essential nutrients and vitamins like fiber, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6, just to name a few. Yes, we do love and require crispy fries, cheesy potato gratin, and creamy mashed potatoes on occasion. We mustn’t forget, however, that sometimes the potato is strong enough to stand on its own.

One of my all-time favorite potato preparations highlights the star ingredient beautifully, and is, perhaps, one of the simplest recipes you will ever make. My Oven-Roasted Steak Fries have a short ingredient list and a load of flavor. The cooking medium performs two important functions in this recipe. Besides allowing us to indulge healthily, the oven lends a beautiful roasted note. Keeping the skins on these fries also functions to retain many of the potato’s nutrients. Oh, and these guys are the perfect “soaker uppers” of any flavor profile you want to impart on them. Whenever I make this recipe, I slather them with whatever spices or flavorings I’m in the mood for, (or whatever I have on hand) whether it's barbeque sauce, garlic-dill butter, pesto, or chipotle rub.

Well, with no further adiue…

Oven Roasted Steak Fries

Yield: 4 servings

2 ½ lbs Idaho Potatoes (about 8 or 9 medium potatoes)

¼ cup canola oil

1 tbsp salt

1/2 tbsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut the potatoes in half and then slice each half into 3 or 4 wedges, depending on the size of the potato. In a medium bowl, toss the potato wedges with oil, salt and pepper. Lay wedges onto an aluminum foil lined sheet pan. Make sure to provide adequate space between each potato. Bake potatoes 40-45 minutes until golden and tender. 

*If you want to flavor your potatoes with spices or sauces (i.e.: chili powder, cumin, pesto, barbeque, chipotle, mustard, etc.) add these to the mix before roasting.

*If you want to add a flavored butter to your potatoes (i.e.: garlic butter, herb butter, truffle butter, etc.) toss into the potatoes as soon as they come out of the oven.