Baked Gnocchi Semi-Florentine

So on food network (of course) I saw a quick commercial where Giada was making baked gnocchi, but since it was a commercial there was no recipe, and I couldn’t find one online, but it seemed like a good idea, so I invented a recipe and it was very VERY good, and very VERY rich. This was not a waistline-friendly dish. But if you want some molten comfort food in a bowl, this turned out excellent.  I’m calling it “semi-Florentine” because I added some greens and veggies, but not ones traditionally found in Florentine.

Ingredients:

1 package fresh or frozen gnocchi, boiled until ALMOST done

3tbs butter

3tbs flour

1 cup heavy cream

3.5 cups skim milk

½ grated parm cheese

3 pinches of nutmeg

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of salt

A few healthy cranks of black pepper

3tbs crumbled goat cheese (garlic herb seasoned was good)

2 cups of slices mushrooms

3 cups of chopped kale

½ cup frozen peas

2 minced shallots

Directions:

Sautee shallots, mushrooms and kale in some olive oil and butter, seasoning with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Set aside.

Making a béchamel sauce (BEST base for mac and cheese sauces, or to use in lasagna, or alfredo. *see note): take the butter and melt it in a sauce pot, and add the flour and stir until it’s a thick yellow liquid. Then add the cream, milk, parm and spices and continue to stir. In 5-10 minutes you will see the sauce start to thicken on the spoon.  I like to add a decent amount of black pepper and nutmeg, and a pinch of cayenne so that its warm and peppery without being spicy.  Once the sauce is thickened to a mac and cheese sauce-like consistency, remove from the heat and stir in the vegetables, including the frozen peas.

Boil the gnocchi until ALMOST done (softened on the outside but still firm/chewy inside), drain and add to the sauce.

The whole mixture can now be transferred into a buttered deep baking dish, crumble the goat cheese over the top, and then stick in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is brown and bubbly.  Let the molten heaven cool a little before you try and eat that, unless you don’t feel like you need the skin on your tongue.

*Note: the start of this is basically making a rue. If you are going to make a big pot of white sauce, just increase the butter and flour to ensure it gets thick. Its always going to be equal parts flour to butter. The longer you cook those 2 ingredients together, the darker they will become, and dark rue is the start of some GUMBO! 

This is a terrible photo that does not do the end result justice, but its all I got. I didn't plan on blogging this until I ate it.