Okra, Pepper, Red Onion Curry with Crispy Gnocchi #recipe from Molly MacRae

This ad-libbed dish was a great way to use the colorful assortment of vegetables that came to us from a generous friend and her CSA (community supported agriculture) box. The pretty peppers, green and red okra, and one cute little red potato helped create a delicious, warm, satisfying curry. Other vegetables could work just as well. Make the curry your own by adding or substituting fresh produce from your own garden, farmers market, grocery store, or generous friend!

 

Okra, Pepper, Red Onion Curry with Crispy Gnocchi

 

Ingredients

1 pound of shelf-stable gnocchi

16 okra pods (about 1/2 a pound), sliced into 1/2-inch rounds

3 or 4 bell peppers of various colors (or the equivalent in a variety of peppers)

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 a red onion, sliced thin (if I’d had a whole onion I would have used it)

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 small potato (optional), diced

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup tomato paste (each frozen lump in the photograph is 1 tablespoon of paste)

1 teaspoon lime zest

  

Directions

Heat a 12-inch well-seasoned cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add gnocchi, breaking up any that are stuck together. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring only once or twice so they have a chance to crisp and turn brown in spots. Remove gnocchi to a large serving bowl.

Add remainder of olive oil to the skillet. Stir in vegetables, curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Sauté until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally. Add the sauteed vegetables to the serving bowl with the gnocchi.

Now add the tomato paste, lime zest, and 3/4 cup water to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced slightly and a spoon drawn through it leaves a trail, about 10 minutes. Add a few more tablespoons of water if the mixture becomes dry and thick as it simmers.

Stir the tomato sauce into the gnocchi and vegetables in the serving bowl. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

 🍅🍅🍅

 

Are you ready for a summer reading trip? Visit Ocracoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina, in the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries.

 

Or travel to the Scottish Highlands in the Highland Bookshop Mysteries.

 

Spend time in northeast Tennessee in the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, two stand-alone mysteries, and a collection of short stories.

 

Or travel from Cape Cod on the east coast to Monterey on the west coast, with a stop in Ohio along the way in my very gentle mysteries written as Margaret Welch.

 

Happy reading!

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.