Gnocchi with Greens and Beans
Last year, I was in the hardware store and decided to pick up some plants for the garden. It’s Florida, we garden year around. On a whim, I grabbed 2 kale plants. This, I thought would give me a head start, while I waited to plant seeds. It gave me such a head start, that I never planted those seeds! Eight months later, those two plants still produce a boat load of leaves. I bought Lacinato or Dinosaur kale.
Lacinato or Dinosaur Kale
Get your kids into gardening. Go buy some fun Dinosaur kale! Your kids may be more open to trying new things, if they are active in choosing and growing their own food. So anyways, the kale grew. And grew! We have all kinds of kale to eat and the plants show no signs of slowing down! That means it’s time to dig out all the kale recipes, because sauteed kale got old after the first 16 times we had it. Of course, we had scalloped potatoes and kale, all kinds of soups, kale chips and this dish with gnocchi. I’ve based my recipe on one I found at eatingwell.com.
What you’ll need –
The ingredients
You’ll need a 16 ounce package of gnocchi, a can of cannellini beans, a can of diced tomatoes, some dry Italian seasoning, garlic, onion, bell pepper, mozzarella cheese, and a bunch of kale. Enough to yield 8 cups of chopped leaves. I used about 20 leaves. The plant grew that many again, before I got to my front door.
Start by cleaning the kale. Pull off the stems and tear the leaves into smaller pieces.
Get the kale ready
Time to cut up the veggies.
Chop chop
Cut the bell pepper into about 1 inch square pieces.
chop chop, sniff sniff
Dice the onion into about 1/4 inch pieces.
mince mince
Mince the heck out of the garlic. Tiny, tiny pieces. Now, time to cook.
This is a simple one pot dish, so get out a big skillet! A covered one, please. Over medium heat, put a tablespoon of oil in the skillet and add the gnocchi.
gnocchi
Let them cook, stirring them around.
Get some color going
When they’re all nice and toasty, remove them to a platter and set aside. (just between us – I wiped that plate off and used it for dinner. who needs more dirty dishes?)
Toasty gnocchi
Pour some more oil in the pan and dump in the bell pepper and onion.
Bell pepper and onion
Cook these for a couple of minutes, just until they start to soften. Add in the minced garlic and cook 2 more minutes.
the garlic is surrounded
Push the pepper mix to the side of the pan and pile the kale in.
add the kale
Cover it and cook for 2 minutes.
Cover it up
Open it up, give it a stir
it’s getting there
and then, cover it up and cook for 2 more minutes. While all the opening and covering is going on, drain and rinse the cannellini beans.
rinse the beans
Open the can of diced tomatoes and pour them into the skillet. Add in the white beans and the dry Italian seasoning. Sprinkle on some salt & pepper, too.
add the beans and tomatoes
Give it a good mixing. Cover it and bring to a simmer, about 2 to 4 minutes.
mix it up
Time to grab the plate of sauteed gnocchi and add it to the mix.
little pillows of pasta goodness
Almost dinner!
Combine all the skillet ingredients and return to simmering. After another couple of minutes, turn off the stove. Sprinkle the gnocchi mix with the shredded mozzarella.
top with cheese
Cover and let the cheesy goodness melt all over. That’s it! All done. Pretty it up with some chopped parsley and serve it right from the skillet.
Grab a spoon, it’s dinner!
We had ours with a simple salad featuring some green zebra tomatoes, fresh from the garden. Life’s simple pleasures.
Gnocchi with greens and beans
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided.
- 1 – 16 oz package of ready made gnocchi
- 1 – bunch of fresh kale, stems removed and chopped, about 8 cups of leaves.
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 – can diced tomatoes, 14 to 16oz.
- 1 – can of cannellini beans, 14 to 16oz. Drained and rinsed.
- 1 Tablespoon dried italian seasoning mix
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella
- shredded parsley for garnish
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour in 1 tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil. Add in the gnocchi. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often. When the gnocchi have browned, remove to a plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to skillet. Add in the red bell pepper and white onion. Cook, stirring, over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Move the garlic, onions and pepper mix to one side of the pan and add the kale, packing it in. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove lid and stir kale. Return lid and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove lid and add the canned tomatoes, rinsed and drained white beans, the dry Italian seasoning mix and salt & pepper. Combine well. Cover and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes. Remove lid, stir in the cooked gnocchi, return to simmer and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and let melt. Garnish with shredded parsley. Serve directly from the skillet, family style.
Yum!
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