Brown Butter Gnocchi with Spinach and Pine Nuts – your Meatless Monday Miracle | Vicki James
If you are trying to do the Meatless Monday thing — and good for you if you are — you may be looking for some yummy suggestions that will fill the bill (and your tummy). This recipe is one of my favorites. It’s so good you might not want to save it for Mondays. I promise it’s a great and easy meal to prepare at home any night of the week. It only takes minutes to prepare. Oh, the comfort of the precious pillow-like gnocchis! The richness of the butter toasted pine nuts! Meat or no meat, it’s a treat!
Can something so good be good for you? In this case, “yes”. The recipe makes four one cup servings. Each serving is only 289 calories! I confess that my husband and I eat a little more than a cup each, but it's still a pretty low calorie and healthy meal.
Ingredients
1 (16 oz. package vacuum-packed gnocchi (we tried the mini gnocchi last time and loved it even more)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (10 oz.) package fresh baby spinach
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Preparation
Cook gnocchi according to package direction, omitting salt and fat. Drain in a colander
Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts to the pan and cook 3 minutes or until the butter and nuts are lightly browned, stirring constantly. The little buggers can burn in the blink of an eye, so don’t blink! Add garlic to the pan and cook 1 minute. Add gnocchi and spinach to the pan, and cook, stirring, until the spinach wilts. Stir in salt and pepper and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Now your adorable little gnocchi will be all pretty, brown, garlicky and great. Serve them on up. Pour a nice glass of white wine and feast. You won’t be asking, “Where’s the beef?”