Pan Fried Gnocchi with Spinach and Tomatoes

Name: Pan Fried Gnocchi with Spinach and Tomatoes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients: 10 oz cherry tomatoes on the vine (280g/ 0.62lb); 1 tbsp olive oil; 1.2 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 1 1.1 lb pack store bought gnocchi (500g); 3 tbsp butter; 2 cloves garlic; 4 cups spinach (90g/3.3oz); 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley; 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper (plus more for serving); 1/4 tsp sea salt (plus more for serving); 20 g parmesan cheese (vegetarian hard Italian cheese) ( Plus more for serving); 2 tbsp pinenuts (25g)

Posted: June 8, 2019, Updated: November 13, 2019, By: Michelle Alston / Dinner, Lunch, Recipes, Vegetarian

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Pan Fried Gnocchi with Spinach and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, a delicious quick and easy weeknight dinner ready in under 30 minutes!

I know what’s it like when your weekdays are really busy, you’re tired when you get home but you still want something really tasty and satisfying to eat. This is my life. Always lots going on and sometimes not a lot of time for making complicated dinners. This is why this recipe for pan fried gnocchi with spinach came about. I had a packet of gnocchi sitting in my cupboard, and I had about half an hour to make dinner. I always have some spinach and tomatoes in the fridge so I started thinking of making a quick dinner with all of the above. Now, I know gnocchi can sometimes be a bit on the dull side, but if you pan fry that gnocchi, in butter, well that’s a whole other story!

How to Make Pan Fried Gnocchi

Start by roasting the cherry tomatoes, add the cherry tomatoes to a roasting tin, drizzle over the balsamic vinegar and olive oil, add the salt and pepper then roast them for about 15 minutes in a hot preheated oven.
While the tomatoes are roasting toast the pine nuts. This should only take two minutes and they are so much better toasted.
Next, cook the gnocchi. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil then add the gnocchi to it. As soon as the gnocchi rises to the top remove it with a slotted spoon. Keep a 1/2 cup of the water from the pot.
Pan fry the gnocchi, heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pan, mine was a 26cm/10 inch pan. Fry the gnocchi for about 5 minutes, tossing every now and again. You want the gnocchi to be a light golden brown, but try not to cook it longer than 5 minutes. After 5 minutes it will start to get tough. Once the gnocchi is done transfer it to a bowl for a minute.
Add another tablespoon of butter to the pan then add the garlic and the spinach, cook for a minute until the spinach wilts then add 1/2 a cup of the water from the gnocchi and give it a quick stir.
Finally, add the tomatoes to the spinach along with the chopped parsley, cheese and the pine nuts. Return the gnocchi to the pan and toss everything together. Serve immediately with some freshly cracked pepper and more grated cheese.

Tips for Making the Perfect Pan Fried Gnocchi:

Store bought potato gnocchi works perfectly well for this and makes it a really quick meal. You can, of course, make your own gnocchi but it will take longer.
I use salted butter for this dish, unsalted butter doesn’t give you the same result so please use salted butter.
Try not to overcook the gnocchi, anything more than 5 minutes will make the gnocchi tough. You want it to be soft in the middle crispy on the outside, so make sure the butter is piping hot but not burning so a medium-hot heat will work best.
Use a large pan to fry the gnocchi, you don’t want the gnocchi to be too overcrowded.
I add some finely grated vegetarian parmesan cheese to the spinach, just make sure the cheese you use will melt well.
This comes together really quickly at the end, as soon as you have added the final ingredients and added the gnocchi back into the pan serve it straight away.

What Makes this Recipe Great:

Just 12 ingredients to perfect pan fried gnocchi! Most of which you probably already have in your cupboard or fridge.
Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, little potato dumplings! What’s not to love?
Juicy, sweet, roasted cherry tomatoes. So good with the gnocchi and spinach!
All that garlic!!
Spinach to add a touch of healthy!
So tasty, mouthwateringly good!
Ready in 30 minutes

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