Gnocchi with Asparagus and Bacon

I've had Gnocchi before a time or two but it was in restaurants.  In case you're not familiar with Gnocchi, it basically is an Italian dumpling.  Usually in the US they are made with potatoes but in Italy there are many regional variations and some don't contain any potato at all.  In Italy, Gnocchi is generally a first course alternative to soup.  Here in the US it seems to be used as the entree more often.

I'd been thinking about trying my hand at Gnocchi and finally decided to when I saw a dish that was Gnocchi, Asparagus, and Bacon.  You know Uncle T has bacon ends and pieces on hand from slicing home cured bacon so this seemed like a perfect opportunity.  There was a left over baguette in the fridge so it got popped back into the oven to crisp up to accompany the meal.

This recipe will easily serve 4 if all you are eating is this and some bread.  Add a salad or some other side and you could make it do for 6 people.

 

Gnocchi with Asparagus and Bacon

Gnocchi with Asparagus and Bacon

2 lbs potatoes
2 cups flour
3 egg yolks
salt, to taste
1 lb Asparagus
1 cup bacon, diced and fried
3 Tbs butter

Bake the potatoes and peel them.  Run the potatoes through a ricer or food mill into a large bowl.  Uncle T uses his box grater.  Add the flour, egg yolks, and salt.  Mix by hand until you have a pliable dough.  Add more flour if necessary.  Make sure you don't over work the dough or your gnocchi will be tough.  Divide the dough into quarters.  On a floured work surface, roll out each quarter into a rope 3/4 to 1 inch thick.  Using a sharp knife, the only kind in Uncle T's kitchen, start cutting the gnocchi in 1/2 inch sections.  If you want to get fancy, roll the gnocchi across a gnocchi board or use the back of a fork to get the traditional ridges.  I didn't bother with that.  Drop gnocchi in boiling well salted water.  The gnocchi is done when it floats.

I cooked my Gnocchi in two batches since I used the pot I'd used to steam the Asparagus.  As the Gnocchi was cut I put it on a floured baking sheet.

While your potatoes are cooking, steam 1 lb of Asparagus but leave it a bit crunchy.  Once the Asparagus is steamed cut the stalks into bite size pieces.  Dice up the bacon of your choice, I used Applewood Smoked Pepper Bacon, and fry until it just starts turning crispy then remove it from the pan.  You'll need a cup of the fried bacon.

In a large skillet, melt 3 Tbs of butter and let it start to brown then add the cooked Gnocchi.  Toss it around to get the Gnocchi coated with the butter and let it start to brown a bit.  Add the Asparagus and the Bacon and keep shaking the skillet to mix them up until they are hot again.

A tasty filling meal

During the combining of all the major components would be a good time to add some fresh herbs to boost the flavor.  Sadly, I didn't think of that until I was plating.  Why have a herb garden if I don't remember to use it?

The baguette that accompanied supper came from the YouTube channel of Artisan Bread with Steve.  His no knead recipes turn out really nice if you don't want to deal with super long rise times for bread.  Here is the link to the baguettes, https://youtu.be/QBX9S5klgN8.  In his video, he uses a baguette tray to shape and keep them separate.  All I did was put them on a baking sheet with some corn meal on it.  They kept their shape and turned out great.



Baguettes hot from the oven

I hope you give both of these a try.  I'll be looking for ways to use Gnocchi as a side or in a different dish.
Uncle T