Quick Assembly Gourmet Dinner Entrée–Lemon Cream & Spinach Gnocchi
I love it when I can take a product I’ve purchased in a supermarket, add some simple ingredients to it that I tend to have around my kitchen, and transform it into a flavorful and somewhat fancy (fancy for my kitchen anyway) entrée.
That’s what I’ve done with this package of fresh gnocchi. I added sautéed spinach and garlic and tossed everything together in a light lemon cream sauce. Dinner is ready in 15 minutes and it isn’t grilled cheese or hot dogs!
Lemon Cream & Spinach Gnocchi
Ingredients:
13 ounces fresh gnocchi (available at many supermarket chains)
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 cups packed baby spinach (about 4 ounces)
3/4 cup fat free half and half
1 1/2 teaspoons unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes (optional)
Directions:
1. Start cooking gnocchi in a pasta pot of boiling water and continue cooking until al dente. When just tender, drain gnocchi.
2. While gnocchi is cooking, coat a nonstick large skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, spinach, fat free half and half and flour and cook, uncovered, stirring until spinach is wilted. Remove mixture from heat and whisk in lemon zest and lemon juice.
3. Add gnocchi to the lemon sauce with spinach mixture and sprinkle Parmesan evenly over the top. Add red pepper flakes if desired and serve!
Yield: About 3 servings
Per serving: 356 calories, 13 g protein, 60 g carbohydrate, 6.8 g fat, 2.9 g saturated fat, 2.5 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunsaturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 4.5 g fiber, 680 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 17 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = .2 gram, Omega-6 fatty acids = .8 gram.
