Gnocci in a Creamy Pesto Sauce

Today I'm going to talk about one of Keith's favorite meals: Gnocci in a creamy pesto sauce. Normally I use Trader Joe's brand, but this time I am using whole wheat that I picked up at Whole Foods. When Keith and I took a pasta workshop cooking class, we made fresh gnocci which doesn't compare to this dish... but for pre-made gnocci this is actually pretty good. (Don't worry, I plan to start making fresh gnocci at home soon!)

Everything I need for a yummy dinner!

Normally I serve this dish with steamed asparagus and broccoli. Today, I decided to do something a little different (mainly because I had no broccoli.) I had some shallots, so I decided to saute some shallots in a small portion of the olive oil before adding the milk and remaining oil to the sauce. I also decided to add some spinach.

I think the more I keep track of what I do in the kitchen, the more new things I try and therefore the more new things I discover.

I added an extra 1/8th cup of milk to help add volume for the spinach. The sauce is another thing that I would like to make from scratch, but the mix is a pretty good "cheat". I added the spinach after I turned off the heat from the sauce.

The sauce before (left) and after (right) adding the spinach

I steam the veggies in in the same water that I use to cook the gnocci. Since gnocci only need a few minutes to cook, I take care of the vegetables first.

Setting up to add the gnocci.

I had been making this meal for a while when I suddenly discovered that it was completely vegetarian. We frequently have dinners with some friends of ours, and one couple is vegetarian so I was always looking for complete meatless meals.

I have no idea why I started arranging the asparagus spears like this, but it seemed like the best way to get them to fit into the bowl.