It was Friday and the weekend had officially arrived. I gotta tell you it was the longest week for me and my hubby and I knew that the best way was to go out and celebrate the week’s end, but I felt like cooking! We were due to go to a evening gathering with desserts and cocktails, so I knew our meal had to be quick yet fantastic. I found a great recipe for gnocchi that only takes 15 minutes to prepare. YES, I said 15 minutes. Between preparing them and making a sauce AND a salad, I was done within 30 minutes! Take that Rachel Ray! 🙂
Thanks to a new blog I stumbled upon on Foodbuzz, I was able make a great meal to finish the week! It was the easiest pasta I have ever attempted to make in my life, so go ahead, make it this week and impress your family.
Ricotta Gnocchi and Sausage Meatballs with Tomato-Pepper Sauce
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serves 3
Sausage Meatballs (my creation)
1/2 lb ground Italian sausage
1 Tbsp parlsey
2 tsp Italian seasonings
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
Mix all ingredients together and form meatballs. Brown the meatballs for 8 minutes. Remove meatballs and place in a covered bowl. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.
Tomato-Pepper Sauce (My creation)
5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 Red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 galic cloves, minced
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Heat olive oil in pan. Add the chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic and sauté. Add the pepper and salt and continue cooking until the tomato mixture has softened. Place in a blender and blend the sauce. Add the sauce back into the pan and add the sausage meatballs. Boil the sauce for 10 minutes on medium-high. Remove from heat and cook gnocchi.
Ricotta Gnocchi
adapted from The Noshery
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1 cup flour, have extra for dusting
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (I only had Romano, which worked really well)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
Drain any excess liquid from the ricotta cheese. Combine ricotta cheese, Parmesan, yolk and salt in a large bowl. Mix well using a wooden or plastic spoon. Add the flour and stir until just combined. Do not over work. The dough will be very sticky.
Put a pot of water to boil. Flour you work area generously with flour and your hands. Divide the dough in half and roll out to till it is about as thick as a finger. Take sharp knife, dip in flour and cut the the rolls into about 1 inch pillows. Transfer pillows to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough, work quickly so that the gnocchi on the baking sheet doesn’t get sticky.
You water should have come to a slow boil by now, add a generous pinch of salt to the water. Drop your gnocchi into the water and stir to keep them from sticking to the bottom. The gnocchi will float to the top when done, about 2 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or skimmer remove from water and serve immediately with your choice of sauce.
