Gnocchi With Creamy Spinach Sauce - #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  I don’t know when I first discovered gnocchi, the little Italian potato balls, but I do know it was love at first bite. On our trip to Switzerland and Italy last fall, I ate them several times, with a variety of sauces, and Mr. Right and my brother even had purple gnocchi, colored with beet juice! 

This version is simple and quick enough for a week-night dinner. It would also work well as a side dish with chicken or steak. Shelf-stable gnocchi are readily available in grocery stores in the pasta aisle, vacuum-packed, typically in one pound packages. They are gluten-free by definition, but some versions have added flours or starches that might be problematic for some, so if you’re g-f, check the labels. 

We used the cayenne pepper and liked how it complimented the other flavors but if you don’t care for it, leave it out and you’ll still have a nicely balanced flavor profile that will make your mouth happy. We used evaporated milk and it worked well; next time, we’ll try cream, just for fun. Because potatoes, spinach, and cream are always fun, right?

Buon appetito!

Gnocchi With Creamy Spinach Sauce

(adapted from the Washington Post)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion (10 ounces), diced

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

One 16-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained 

One 12-ounce can evaporated milk or 1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1 pound shelf-stable potato gnocchi

Heat the oil in a large saute pan on medium, until the oil shimmers. Add the chopped onion and spices and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions start to soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the spinach and evaporated milk or cream and bring to a simmer. Add the gnocchi. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the gnocchi are soft and tender but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Serve hot.

Serves 4 generously as a main dish; 6 as a side. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

From the cover of BLIND FAITH, written as Alicia Beckman (Crooked Lane Books, October 11, 2022)  

Long-buried secrets come back with a vengeance in a cold case gone red-hot in Agatha Award-winning author Alicia Beckman’s second novel, perfect for fans of Laura Lippman and Greer Hendricks.

Two women whose paths crossed in Montana years ago discover they share keys to a deadly secret that exposes a killer—and changes everything they thought they knew about themselves. 

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, continuing in July 2022 with Peppermint Barked. She's the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. As Alicia Beckman, she writes standalone suspense, beginning with Bitterroot Lake (2021) and continuing with Blind Faith (October 2022, Crooked Lane Books).

A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by her website and subscribe to her seasonal newsletter, for a chat about the writing life, what she's working on, and  what she's reading -- and a free short story. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.