gnocchi w/ sausage, squash, kale & a shallot brown butter miso lemon sauce
a very wordy recipe worth making! read through all of the instructions before you begin. you should be doing this with any recipe you make anyway! so with that I just have a few things I wanna tell ya…
i made this with trader joes cauliflower gnocchi, but feel free to use any store bought gnocchi you please (or home-made, and if you do that MAJOR props to you my friend).
alsooooo, if gnocchi just isn’t your thing you could use really any pasta shape. orecchiette would be hot, so would a big rig (large rigatoni if you didn’t already know what big rig stands for). obviously just skip the step where you cook the gnocchi and instead cook your pasta!! simple as that.
don’t get freaked out if the sauce starts to get too thick, adding a splash of water will save any pasta sauce that thickens too much.
you can make this vegetarian by using a veggie sausage or maybe even a spicy crumbled tofu (which I don’t have a recipe for but if you find a good one please share it with me!!). there won’t be any fat left over to cook the kale in if you use veggie sausage, so add some olive oil to the pan before adding you’re kale.
if all you can find is a big ole squash you can go ahead and roast the entire thing. freeze what you don’t use. thaw it out and throw it into another future pasta dish or save it and make my honeynut squash risotto when I drop that (hopefully next week!).
anywho I think that’s it for the introduction so cook on muh frands!! and send pics;-)
ingredients——————————
16-18 oz gnocchi of your choosing, if you’re using trader joes cauliflower gnocchi it is 1.5 bags
1 small to medium butternut or honeynut squash, seeds and skin removed, cut into 1/2in squares. It’ll be about 2 cups.
2 tsp paprika
3 shallots, sliced into thin rings
3 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 bunch kale, lucinato (dino) preferred, stems removed and torn into smallish pieces
1lb hot Italian sausage, casing removed if using links
2 heaping tbs miso, whisked into 1/3 cup of water
5tbs butter
1/2 lemon, juiced
olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided. Plus more to taste
pepper to taste
instructions——————————
preheat the oven to 425 fahrenheit. on a large baking sheet drizzle the squash with 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp kosher salt, lots of freshly ground black pepper, and 2 tsp paprika and toss. on the other half of that baking sheet (or on another sheet if there is not room) toss your gnocchi in 1 tbs olive oil to coat. bake for about 20-30 minutes tossing both the squash and gnocchi once or twice. the gnocchi might need to come out sooner, around 20 minutes. once the squash is tender and caramelized in places and the gnocchi is crisped and golden on the sides, set aside to cool for a later use. if you are using trader joes cauli gnocchi do not cook the gnocchi at this stage. it does not bake like a regular gnocchi does and it will not come out the same.
while squash and gnocchi bake: preheat a large frying pan over medium high heat. begin to brown the sausage, smash it with the back of a wooden spoon (or another sturdy spatula) so it is making a lot of contact with the hot pan. don’t touch it for a few minutes. once the edges start to brown and it looks like it is almost cooked through, break it up and toss with your spoon. let cook for 2 more minutes then use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a paper towel lined plate, leaving the juices in the pan.
turn the heat down to medium and cook the kale in the sausage fat for about 5-7 minutes until the kale is wilted and tender. transfer to the plate with the sausage.
to cook the trader joes cauliflower gnocchi: heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat, add about 1 tbs of oil. add the frozen gnocchi, tossing once to coat it in the oil and then don’t touch it until the undersides start to brown. toss again and brown the other side. do this until they are mostly crisped all around, cooked through and tender when you cut one open. skip this step if you baked your gnocchi in the beginning.
begin to make your sauce. set your large frying pan or dutch oven over medium heat and add the butter. once melted add your shallots and garlic along with a 1/2 tsp salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots and garlic are softened and a bit frizzled and your butter has begun to brown. it should smell very fragrant and nutty (along with the onion-y smell of the cooked shallots and garlic, mmmmmmmmmmmm).
once the butter is browned and shallots and garlic are cooked, pour in your miso/water mixture. this will also be your time to de-glaze the pan, so scrape up any good lil bits that are stuck to the bottom. stir constantly until a gravy like mixture forms. once everything is well combined and thickened, add your lemon juice and a splash of more water. stir well and taste for salt and acid. add a touch more of lemon juice or salt if you think its lacking in either.
add your gnocchi and toss in the sauce until well coated. then add back your sausage kale and squash and toss everything to coat once again. if the sauce ever seems to thick (which it probably will) add a splash more water to loosen things up and help coat it all.
once everything is coated in the sauce, turn off the heat and shave parmesan over allllllllll of it.
eat!!
this is how your sauce should be lookin. you will probably want to thin it out a bit with some water once you add the gnocchi and veg in
this is about how the sausage should look before you break it up. it will be almost cooked through and crispy/caramelized on the bottom
