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Fried Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce, The Dinner

Thyme for Cooking Posted on by

Gnocchi, boiled first, then fried, gets a wonderful, crunchy exterior and a light-as-a-feather interior. Here they are finished with a savory mushroom sauce.

Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce

Preparation and cooking time:  25 minutes          

 Ingredients:

  • 20 – 24 fresh gnocchi   
  • 4oz (125gr) mushrooms
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup (2oz, 60gr) sherry
  • 1/4 cup (2oz, 60gr) beef stock
  • 1 tbs tomato paste
  • 1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbs water optional
  • 4 tsp olive oil

Fried Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce

 Instructions:

  • Gnocchi:  Heat water in a medium pot for gnocchi.
  • When boiling, add the gnocchi and cook just until they all float, 1 – 2 minutes.  Drain.
  • Heat 2 tsp oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add gnocchi and sauté until light brown, stirring and turning occasionally, 12 – 15 minutes.
  • Mushroom Sauce: Roughly chop shallot.
  • Trim and roughly chop mushrooms.
  • Heat 2 tsp oil in a medium skillet.  Add shallots and sauté until tender.
  • Add Worcestershire, mushrooms, and sauté until mushrooms start to brown.
  • Add tomato paste, beef stock, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
  • For a thicker sauce: dissolve cornstarch in water and stir into sauce. 
  • To finish:  Arrange gnocchi on small plates.  Spoon sauce over and serve.

My dinner party menu:

I served the Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce for the first course, garnished with two Mushrooms Stuffed with Bacon and Tomato and a small, quartered tomato from my garden.

I made a few changes to the stuffed mushrooms – I added chili powder and paprika to the bacon, shallot and tomato filling, used Worcestershire rather than soy sauce and skipped the cheese. There was already plenty of cheese in the menu….  

I boiled the gnocchi, made the sauce, the stuffing and stuffed the mushrooms ahead of time.  I just needed to bake the mushrooms and fry the gnocchi before serving.

Mushrooms_stuffed

The main course was Braised Pork Loin with Red Wine, Shallots and Greek Olives. 

This is a great dish for a dinner party – it can cook for 90 minutes or 150 minutes….. Just adjust the heat a bit for longer cooking.

Pork_red_wine
With the Pork I served Potato Gratin with Fresh Sage.

I made this ahead and put it in the oven when the guests arrived, baking it for 40 minutes. Then I took it out while I did the mushrooms and plated the first course.  It went back in for 30 minutes to finish.

Gratin_sage
I kept the vegetables simple – Roasted Acorn Squash slices (from my garden)…. 

Acornsquash
And the Braised Savoy Cabbage I posted yesterday.

Cabbage
The acorn squash I prepped early, then roasted along with the potatoes, while we had the first course.  The cabbage was done earlier and just kept over low heat until dinner.

No photos of the cheese course, but I had four cheeses: white Cheddar, Vieux Pané, (similar to a Brie – but stronger), Tomme (semi-hard, strong cheese) and an aged sheep's milk cheese that was soft and very strong.  

With the cheese we had purple grapes and country bread.

For dessert I made an Old Fashioned Apple Crisp.

I would have loved to serve it warm…. But I have a European oven and I couldn't fit the potatoes, the squash and the apple crisp in at the same time.  

I made it ahead….. And I served it with vanilla ice cream.

Apple_crisp
After dessert we had coffee, tea and chocolates.

And that was dinner!

Oh…. We had champagne with the nibbles, a white Graves (Bordeaux) with the first course, red Margaux (Bordeaux) with the main and cheese courses.


Comments

Fried Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce, The Dinner — 11 Comments

  7. You know, I’ve never taken the time to fry the gnocchi after boiling them but I have to try. I love when they are crispy like that on the outside. And I love your sauce! The Worcester and the sherry must add amazing flavor! No wonder mine is so banal. Thanks for sharing!

  10. Linda, Val, Pam – thanks ‘-))
    manningroad, we had leftovers…. YAY!
    Thanks, Ina and Joey.
    Jamie, they are so much better fried (IMHO) You can buy gnocchi just for the skillet, buy I think getting the kind you have to boil first get crispier and lighter.
    Elizabeth, I totally agree – but I can’t remember what prompted me to do it the first time LOL
    Mimi – now that you have more time…..

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