Spinach & Mushroom Gnocchi

Gnocchi. nyawk-kee Say that 10 times fast.

Growing up, I watched a lot of Food Network. To this day, that's one of the two channels I can binge-watch on TV (aside from Bravo...#housewivesdramaforlife). One of my favorite chefs to watch is Giada De Laurentiis. Everything she makes looks amazing but, as you can imagine with Italian cuisine, some of her dishes seem like a day-long event. Sadly, I don't have all that free time to make amazing, handmade items such as gnocchi. Turns out, I don't have to!

Gnocchi (plural) look like a smaller version of dumplings, made from different ingredients like semolina, wheat flour, potato, or cornmeal. The dough, similar to dumplings, is rolled into a long and thin log and cut into small pieces. Resembling pasta, gnocchi are boiled and served as a main or side dish.

During one of my grocery trips, I grabbed a pouch of pumpkin and potato gnocchi (I am a sucker for anything pumpkin), ventured into the unknown world of this delicate item, and created a simple but decadent side dish. This recipe can be made with any variation of gnocchi; grab what you can find and let your imagination take you from Italy to your dinner table in less than 20 minutes.

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Ingredients:

1 ½ cups (210 g) uncooked gnocchi*

2 cloves of garlic; minced

½ Tbsp (7 g) butter

3 cups (85 g) fresh spinach; packed

8 oz. of fresh mushrooms; quartered

4 Tbsp (60 mL) Marsala wine

¼ tsp salt

pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Boil gnocchi according to directions (it usually takes less than 5 minutes). Strain and set aside.

2. In a pan, melt butter on medium heat, add garlic, and mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms are tender.

3. Add Marsala wine and spinach. Cook until spinach has wilted.

4. Add gnocchi, salt, pepper, and cook over low heat until thoroughly combined and sauce has thickened slightly. Serve as a side dish or main dish with a protein of choice.

Macros per Serving (2): 57 g of carbs | 4 g of fats | 10 g of protein

NOTE: macros are based on the ingredients I used which may vary from actual ingredients used in the making of this recipe.