Sheet-Pan Potato Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Arugula, & Basil

One more summer sheet-pan dinner! 🙂

I recently made a delicious skillet gnocchi dish developed by Ali Slagle for The New York Times which was very reminiscent of this dish. Apparently, Ali Slagle inspired Sarah Jampel to create this version for Bon Appétit.

I loved that this variation incorporated arugula- one of my favorites- and coated it with a dressing made with roasted garlic. It was a quick, easy, and tasty summer meal. Great.

Yield: Serves 4

• 1/2 large red onion, cut into 1/2-inch thick wedges (I cut it into 8 wedges)
• 2 to 4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 4 cups (2 pints) cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 17.6-oz. package shelf-stable or refrigerated potato gnocchi (I used Trader Joe’s)
• 4 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling, if desired
• 1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 to 3 cups baby arugula (I used 3 cups of my CSA arugula)
• 1 cup basil leaves, large leaves torn
• 2 oz Parmesan, shaved (I used Parmigiano-Reggiano)

1. Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425°. (I set my oven to convection roast.)
2. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.
3. Toss onion, garlic, tomatoes, gnocchi, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1 1/4 tsp Diamond Crystal or 3/4 tsp Morton kosher salt on a rimmed baking sheet to coat. Season generously with pepper and toss again to combine.
4. Roast, stirring once or twice, until gnocchi are golden and starting to crisp, most of the tomatoes have burst, and onion is golden, 25–30 minutes.
5. Remove garlic from baking sheet, peel, and place in a small bowl. Mash with 1/4 tsp salt (garlic should be quite soft). (I used 4 cloves of garlic.)
6. Whisk in lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon of oil into the mashed garlic. Season dressing with pepper and more salt, if needed.
7. Add arugula, basil, and Parmesan to baking sheet and drizzle dressing over; toss to combine.
8. Divide among plates and drizzle with a little more oil, if desired.

Whole Wheat Potato-Spinach Gnocchi with Kale-Walnut Pesto

In the past, I have found making gnocchi to be a frustrating experience. I blame my previous difficulty on waterlogged potatoes… In this recipe, the potatoes are baked prior to ricing- no water involved- it worked perfectly!  The gnocchi were tender, soft, and pillowy. This dish was inspired by alamain.net. The recipe for gnocchi was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by Grace Parisi. I modified it by adding spinach, using whole wheat flour, and dressing it with pesto. The pesto recipe was adapted from alamain.net. I used Tuscan Kale instead of Rainbow Kale, Grana Padano instead of Parmesan, and walnuts instead of pine nuts. I doubled the gnocchi recipe to freeze a batch for later. Green, healthy, and delicious!

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

For the Gnocchi:

• 4 pounds russet potatoes (about 6) (enough to make 5 cups riced potatoes)
• 5 large egg yolks
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, or enough to achieve desired dough texture, plus more for dusting
• 6 oz baby spinach
• 1 T olive oil
• Kale-Walnut Pesto (recipe follows)
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Pierce the potatoes all over with a fork. Alternatively, bake the potatoes in the oven for about 1 hour, until tender.
2. Meanwhile, sauté the baby spinach in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. Using the potato ricer, squeeze out excess moisture from the spinach. Finely chop the drained spinach in a food processor.
3. Halve the potatoes. Scoop the flesh into a ricer and rice the potatoes.  Transfer 5 slightly packed cups of riced potatoes to a bowl. Stir in the egg yolks, drained and chopped spinach, and 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Add the 1 to 1 1/2 cups of flour; stir until a stiff dough forms. Knead the dough gently until smooth but slightly sticky, adding more flour if necessary.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust with flour. On a floured surface, cut the dough into 16 pieces, rolling each into a 3/4-inch-thick rope. Cut the ropes into 3/4-inch pieces.
5. With your thumb, roll each piece against the tines of a fork to make ridges (I dusted the gnocchi, fork, and my thumb with flour before rolling); transfer to the baking sheet.
6. In a large pot of simmering salted water, cook the gnocchi in batches until they rise to the surface, then simmer for 2 minutes longer. Repeat as necessary. (Do not overcrowd!)
7. Toss the gnocchi with pesto to cover, sprinkle with the cheese, and serve.

MAKE AHEAD: The uncooked gnocchi pieces can be frozen on the prepared baking sheet, transferred to a resealable plastic bag, and frozen for up to 1 month. Boil without defrosting. (I reserved half of the batch.)

For the Kale-Walnut Pesto

• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1 cup Tuscan kale
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 4 T olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Grana Padano
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until paste consistency is reached. Store in an airtight container.

One Year Ago:

• Gnocchi with Bacon and Tomatoes

If you like this you may also like:

• Spinach Gnocchi with Shaved Ricotta Salata

Gnocchi with Bacon and Tomato

Now that spring is here we are busy doing TONS of yard work. I needed a quick dinner to pull together with my last bit of energy. This is my FAVORITE quick dinner. SUPER QUICK.

I use store bought whole wheat or regular potato gnocchi – although I am sure that this dish would be even more amazing with homemade! It is quite spicy with the red pepper flakes -which I love as well. We eat it with a green salad or roasted vegetables on the side. This recipe was adapted from Everyday Food.

Yield: Serves 4

For the Sauce:

• 4 (thick) or 5 (regular) slices bacon, thinly sliced crosswise
• 3 medium tomatoes, or 6-8 Campari tomatoes, cored and diced medium
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, to taste
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 batch simple potato gnocchi (recipe below) or 17.6 oz (500g) store-bought whole wheat or regular potato gnocchi (cooked according to package directions)
• fresh parsley or basil, chopped, for garnish
• parmesan, shaved or grated, for garnish

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high until crisp. Drain on paper towels; remove all but 2 teaspoons fat from skillet.
2. Add tomatoes, garlic, and red-pepper flakes; season with salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes begin to break down and sauce is chunky, 6 minutes.
3. Add cooked gnocchi and bacon. Toss until gnocchi are heated through and coated with sauce.
4. Sprinkle with herbs and Parmesan; serve immediately.

For the Simple Potato Gnocchi:

Prep Time: 50 minutes, Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: Serves 8

• 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 5 small)
• coarse salt
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. In a large pot, bring potatoes to a boil in salted water; reduce to a rapid simmer and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, 35 to 40 minutes.
2. Lightly dust two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets with flour; set aside.
3. Drain potatoes and peel while still hot with a paring knife (use a thick, dry kitchen towel or pot holder to hold them). Immediately pass potatoes through a ricer onto a work surface. Let cool completely.
4. Sprinkle potatoes with flour and 2 teaspoons salt, then top with egg. With your hands, work flour and egg into a dough.
5. Knead dough until smooth but not elastic, dusting with flour if it becomes too sticky, 4 minutes. Do not overwork dough.
6. Divide dough into 8 portions. Roll each portion into a rope (1/2 inch thick and 24 inches long). Cut each rope into 1/2-inch pieces.
7. Gently roll each dough piece against the back tines of a fork to make ridges, then arrange in a single layer on prepared baking sheets.
8. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In batches, add a few handfuls gnocchi and cook until most have floated to top, 2 minutes. With a wire-mesh spider or a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi immediately to a sauce.

Note: Place boiled gnocchi on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, cover, and let sit, up to 2 hours.