Mmmm. Gnocchi. Little pillows of fluffy, potato-y goodness. Combine them with almost any sauce, throw a little grated parm on those bad boys, and I’m sold…especially if it’s cold outside and I’m needing something filling and hearty in my life.

This Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach is one of the first recipes I turn to as soon as the temperatures start dropping. It’s so unbelievably easy, so quick, and everyone always asks for seconds. And that simple sauce? We’re talking lick-your-plate good here. What? Don’t act like you haven’t done it! I totally do every time I make this! There ain’t no shame in my game.

Tips and Tricks

-If you’re into kale, this recipe is perfect for it. Just switch out the spinach. I personally prefer baby kale because it’s so much more tender and mild, but it can be hard to find in my neck of the woods. I highly recommend trying it if you can find it!

-Feel free to switch out the sausage! If you like things with more heat, go for Mild or Hot Italian Sausage rather than sweet.

-If you have sausage left over, either freeze it for later, or make one of my other favorite pasta dishes, try this Chicken and Sausage Pasta!

-Cooking with white wine tip: I like to cook with Pinot Grigio, especially if I’m using it in an Italian dish. You could also go with Sauvignon Blanc. Both are fine and easy to find. I would avoid cooking with Chardonnay (unless it’s unoaked) as most of those are way to oaky/creamy to work well in recipes like this one. And definitely don’t use a sweet white wine, such as Moscato.

-Not a white wine drinker and don’t cook with it enough to warrant opening a whole bottle just for one recipe? I like to keep the little mini-bottles (187 mL) in my pantry. You can find them in most grocery stores and they usually come in 4-packs.

How to Make Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach

Start off by getting a large pot of well-salted water boiling for your gnocchi. It cooks really fast, so you’ll want to have your water ready and waiting for you when you’re ready for it.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the red pepper flakes and diced onion. Season with some salt and pepper and sauté until it starts to turn translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for a few more seconds. Next, slice open the sausage casings and add it in small chunks; you’ll want the pieces of sausage to be no bigger than a single gnocchi. Let the sausage brown.

Once the sausage has some good color on it, add in the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up any brown bits. Trust me, you want those! That’s flavor right there friends! Continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated out of the pan, then add the chicken stock.

While that’s cooking, add the gnocchi to the pot of boiling water. Keep a close eye on it! As soon as those babies start to float to the top, use a slotted spoon to scoop them out and into the skillet. It’s ok if they’re slightly underdone since they’ll continue to cook in the sauce. Give everything a good stir to combine. If it looks a little dry, add a little bit of the cooking water from the gnocchi. Stir in the spinach and allow it to wilt.

Remove from the heat and top with some grated parmigiana. Scoop yourself up a big bowl, pour a glass of wine, curl up on the couch, and ENJOY!

Looking for More Great Pasta Recipes? Try one of these!

Crock Pot Chicken Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Summer Vegetable Angel Hair Pasta

Prosciutto and Asparagus Pasta

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Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach

Get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes with this super easy meal that looks like (and tastes like!) it came straight from your favorite Italian restaurant!

Course Main

Cuisine Italian

Keyword 30 Minute Meals, Baby Kale, easy dinner, Gnocchi, Italian Sausage, Kale, Spinach

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan – The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz) Package Gnocchi
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 Onion, diced
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 3 Links Sweet or Hot Italian Sausage, casing removed
• 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/4 Cup White Wine
• 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
• 2 Cups Fresh Spinach
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

• Heat salted water in a large pot to boiling.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil, and sauté the onion until it softens, Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or so, until it becomes fragrant.
• Add the sausage and brown, crumbling it until the chunks are no bigger than the size of the gnocchi.
• Add the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up any brown bits. Allow the wine to reduce, cooking it down until there is very little liquid left in the pan. Add the chicken broth.
• Add the gnocchi to the boiling, salted water, and just until it floats to the surface of the water (follow package instructions). Immediately transfer to the skillet with the sausage using a slotted spoon. Stir to combine. Add a little pasta water to the skillet (approx 1/4 cup).
• Add the spinach to the skillet. Stir to combine everything cook until the spinach wilts.
• Remove from the heat and top with grated parm. Taste for seasoning. Try not to "test" it all before you get it to the table.

Notes

*Feel free to substitute kale or baby kale for the spinach!

The post Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

Does anyone else remember that old Chef Boyardee commercial where a young Chef Boyardee was learning to cook from his grandma? They go to the market and pick out fresh ingredients, then spend hours in the kitchen preparing the perfect red sauce for their pasta. As the sauce is simmering away, the grandma imparts some very important wisdom on the young chef: “Good food takes time.”

I don’t know why, but that phrase has stuck with me over the years. Such is the power of good advertising, eh? Any time I’m making something that feels like it’s taking ages to prepare, that heavily “Italian” accented voice floats though my head, reminding me to just be patient. It’ll be ready when it’s ready and it will totally be worth it.

I feel like risotto has a little bit of an intimidation factor, but don’t let it scare you! It really isn’t difficult at all; it’s just one of those dishes that you have to stick with…kind of like gravy, but a little more so. Trust me, you won’t regret it! This Dirty Risotto is packed with mouth-watering flavor….just…yum.

How to Make Dirty Risotto:

Start off by simmering 5 cups of chicken broth (I use low sodium) in a large saucepan. You don’t need to boil it or anything; it just needs to be heated through so you’re not adding cold/cool chicken broth to your rice when the time comes.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large, heavy sauce pan. Remove the sweet Italian sausage from the casings and add to the pan, breaking it up into smallish chunks. Add the onions, garlic, bell peppers, and mushrooms. Sautee all of this until the sausage is browned and the veggies start to soften, then season with salt, pepper, and if you want a little kick, the cayenne pepper. Add the unrinsed rice to the pan, stirring to coat it in the oils and butter, and letting it brown a little (just a minute or two).

Once the rice starts to take on just a little bit of color, add the wine to the pan, making sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom. When the wine has mostly absorbed, add about 1/2 cup of the warmed chicken broth. I just do it a ladle at a time, making sure I’m stirring the rice constantly. Stir and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, then add another 1/2 cup.

Repeat this process, adding half a cup of broth at a time and stirring constantly in between each addition, until you’ve used all of the broth and the rice is cooked and creamy. Remove from the heat and add the parmigiana. That’s it! You’re done, and your arm has gotten a good workout! Now it’s time to reward yourself by eating a big, steaming bowl of creamy risotto!

*This post was sponsored by The Glass Barn, Indiana’s Corn and Soybean growers, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*

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Dirty Risotto

Cajun-inspired Dirty Risotto is the perfect creamy, flavor packed meal for your family!

Course Main

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Bell Peppers, Cajun Food, Dirty Rice, Risotto, Sausage Rolls

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 5 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Links Sweet (or Hot) Italian Sausage, Casings Removed
• 1 Medium Onion, Diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, Diced
• 1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper, Diced
• 4 oz. Button Mushrooms, Finely Chopped
• 1 1/2 Cups Arborio Rice
• 3/4 Cup Dry White Wine
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 Cup Grated Parmigiana

Instructions

• In a large saucepan, heat the chicken broth over medium-low heat.
• In a separate large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Remove the sausage from it's casings and brown in the pan, breaking in to small chunks.
• After the sausage has started to brown, add the onions, garlic, bell peppers, mushrooms, and cayenne pepper. Continue to sauté until the vegetables start to soften. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the rice to the pan, stirring to coat. Sauté for about 2 minutes, allowing the rice to brown slightly.
• Add the wine to the pan, stirring well and scraping any brown bits from the bottom. Stir and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 2 minutes.
• Begin adding the chicken broth about a half cup at a time, stirring the whole time. Allow the liquid to mostly absorb in between each addition. Continue adding broth and stirring constantly (about 2 minutes in between each addition) until all of the broth has been added and the rice is cooked through and creamy.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the parmigiana. Serve immediately.

The post Dirty Risotto appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m obsessed with Italian food and wine. Part of this obsession stems from La Scala, this amazing little chef-owned Italian restaurant that I worked at while I was in college. When I say amazing, I’m not exaggerating. The food there is to. die. for. Not only is it the place that taught me to love real Italian food, but it’s the place that taught me how to love wine. Up until I started working there, I thought Boone’s Farm was the real deal…yeah.

I now live far enough away from Lafayette that I haven’t been to my favorite place in a couple of years, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still crave their food now and then! It was during one of these fits of craving that I decided to recreate one of their dishes, Miguel Angelo, and now I’m sharing the result with you! This delicious pasta dish has a very light sauce, but thanks to all of the goodies in it, it’s super hearty, flavorful, and filling. It has quickly become one of my family’s favorites…even my toddler loves it!

My version is slightly different than the original. They add a touch of their special marinara to the sauce, but I can’t recreate their marinara. When I tried adding a bit of my favorite jarred sauce to the pasta, it really didn’t taste great. So, I left it out of the recipe. The other is that since I don’t have a commercial-grade broiler, and…let’s be honest…I’m usually in a rush to get dinner on the table, I don’t generally take the time to melt the cheese on top. I just kind of throw it on there as I dish it up and let it melt on its own. At La Scala, they put it under a salamander and let the cheese get bubbly and gorgeous. If you want to take the time to do the same with your home oven broiler, feel free!

I like using sweet Italian sausage links in my recipes that call for sausage. I just cut a slit in the casing and squeeze out chunks of sausage. That way, if I don’t use all of the links, I can just freeze the rest to use at a later time. If you would rather use the loose ground stuff, feel free! It’ll taste just the same. Oh, and if you like it a little hot, go for hot Italian Sausage!

Ok, enough with the blabbering already. Let’s make some PASTA!

Cook the fettucine according to package directions, making sure to adequately salt the water (the Italians say it should be salty like the sea) and reserve a about a cup of pasta water when it’s done cooking.

In the meantime, add a touch of olive oil to a large skillet. Break the sausage into little bite-sized pieces and brown them.

Toss the cubed chicken in a little flour and salt, and add it to the pan to brown. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and set it aside. It’s ok if it isn’t all the way cooked through; it will cook a little more in the sauce later.

In the same pan, sauté your onions, making sure to add a pinch of salt, until they start to turn translucent. Add the bell peppers (notice that in the pictures I used yellow instead of green…it’s what I had. Green bell peppers are slightly stronger in flavor, so I suggest using them, but the sweeter red, yellow, or orange work just fine, too), mushrooms, and garlic. Stir and cook for about a minute or so, then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Deglaze simply means to add the wine to the pan while it is at medium high heat while scrapping the bottom of the pan to get all of the brown bits off of the bottom. Brown bits = FLAVOR! Once the wine has cooked for a couple of minutes and reduced down a bit, add the chicken broth. Add the meat back to the pan and let cook for a minute or two, then check the seasoning; if it needs a little more salt, add it.

Once the sauce has started to thicken slightly, add the cooked fettuccine and about a ½ cup of the pasta water, along with the spinach. Toss all of this together. If it’s looking a little dry, feel free to add a touch more pasta water. Give it a taste and adjust seasonings.

When you serve it up, top it with shredded mozzarella and parmigiana. If you decide to put the pasta under a broiler to melt the cheese, you’ll want to have a little more liquid in the bowl or pan than if you are just putting the cheese on and serving it. Enjoy!!!

The post Chicken and Sausage Pasta appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.