Sundays are for eating pasta.
Junior year of college I was finally able to move on up from the prison cell like dorm room my roommates and I were crammed in, to the nice upperclassmen "luxury" apartments. I use the term "luxury" seriously. To this day, I swear I will never be able to afford the penthouse apartments my school housed us in with skyline views of Boston. The apartments came with kitchens, which naturally meant, unless you were a Saudi prince, your parents dropped your meal plan privileges. I was fine with this given my hobby of cooking. However, life on your own Junior year meant loosing one key, crucial, absolutely necessary cooking ingredient...Wine. See I technically am a year younger than my fellow classmates. No, I was not some sort of gifted child that skipped a grade. My parents just thought I was ready to go to school haha and off I went. Being a year younger meant I was living the dream of cooking for myself, while being 20 years old not 21. I could not purchase wine for cooking. I know this is tragic story...I should have prefaced that. Like most underage college students I used to pander the streets begging people to please buy me beer for my chili, cabernet for my coq a vin, chardonnay for my picatta, vodka for my penne. PLEASE anything! This might be a slight dramatization. But still, life was rough at the tender age of 20.
Now, 24 I face similar challenges. Yes, I can buy alcohol, but given that I recently moved out of my parent’s house, I no longer have that endless supply of wine to use as I please. I also use "endless" seriously. My parents are very Italian; We like wine. I'm also cheap, so if I'm forking out the cash for wine, you better believe I'm drinking it by myself on a Friday night. Needless to say, cooking with wine is still something I yearn for in my life. So when I get the chance, I "treat" myself to this ingredient.
Which brings me to my recipe. Hearty gnocchi with sautéed mushrooms, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, topped with fresh parsley and a sprinkle of feta cheese. It's also super quick to make if you happen to have gnocchi on hand. I quickly whipped this up today right after church.
Now, 24 I face similar challenges. Yes, I can buy alcohol, but given that I recently moved out of my parent’s house, I no longer have that endless supply of wine to use as I please. I also use "endless" seriously. My parents are very Italian; We like wine. I'm also cheap, so if I'm forking out the cash for wine, you better believe I'm drinking it by myself on a Friday night. Needless to say, cooking with wine is still something I yearn for in my life. So when I get the chance, I "treat" myself to this ingredient.
Which brings me to my recipe. Hearty gnocchi with sautéed mushrooms, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, topped with fresh parsley and a sprinkle of feta cheese. It's also super quick to make if you happen to have gnocchi on hand. I quickly whipped this up today right after church.
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh or frozen potato gnocchi
1 cup dry white wine (I used a chardonnay)
1/4 chicken broth
1/4 cup light cream (or heavy if you a feeling it)
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons thyme
2 shallots minced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 fresh parsley
1/2 crumbled feta cheese
2 large handfuls of spinach
5 sun-dried tomatoes finely diced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
16 ounces fresh mushrooms
Cook gnocchi in a large salted pot of boiling water. Set aside and toss with a dash of olive oil to prevent sticking.
Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in shallots and garlic and cook about 4 minutes or until fragrant. Add in the sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, thyme and mushrooms and cook for 5 - 10 minutes or until the mushrooms have released their juices and soften. Add in the wine, cream and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper and let the mixture cook until thickened. Add in the spinach and stir the sauce until the spinach wilts. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the feta cheese. Serve sauce immediately over the gnocchi and top with fresh parsley.
1 pound fresh or frozen potato gnocchi
1 cup dry white wine (I used a chardonnay)
1/4 chicken broth
1/4 cup light cream (or heavy if you a feeling it)
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons thyme
2 shallots minced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 fresh parsley
1/2 crumbled feta cheese
2 large handfuls of spinach
5 sun-dried tomatoes finely diced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
16 ounces fresh mushrooms
Cook gnocchi in a large salted pot of boiling water. Set aside and toss with a dash of olive oil to prevent sticking.
Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in shallots and garlic and cook about 4 minutes or until fragrant. Add in the sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, thyme and mushrooms and cook for 5 - 10 minutes or until the mushrooms have released their juices and soften. Add in the wine, cream and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper and let the mixture cook until thickened. Add in the spinach and stir the sauce until the spinach wilts. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the feta cheese. Serve sauce immediately over the gnocchi and top with fresh parsley.
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