Total Time: 20 minutes Serves: 4
Recipe adapted from: Ali Slagle
For a fantastic meal that can be ready in 20 minutes, toss together seared gnocchi and sautéed brussels sprout tops with lemon zest, red-pepper flakes and brown butter. The key to this recipe is how you cook the store-bought gnocchi: No need to boil. Just sear them until they are crisp and golden on the outside, and their insides will stay chewy. The resulting texture is reminiscent of fried dough. Shelf-stable and refrigerated gnocchi will both work here, but the shelf-stable ones do crisp up a bit better.
Ingredients:
- 1 large bunch brussel sprout tops
- 1 lemon
- 4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 (18 ounce) package shelf-stable or refrigerated potato gnocchi
- 4 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 1 tsp honey or balsamic vinegar
- Freshly grated parmesan, for serving
1. Chop the brussels sprout tops into thin ribbons, using all but the bottom of the stems. Using a vegetable peeler, peel thick strips of lemon zest, then coarsely chop. (You should have about 2 teaspoons of chopped zest.)
2. In a large (preferably 12-inch) skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high. Add the brussels sprout tops and season with ½ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Scatter the lemon zest over the top and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Transfer to a medium bowl.
3. In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high. Break up any gnocchi that are stuck together, add them to the pan and cook, covered and undisturbed, until golden brown on one side, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the butter and honey or balsamic, season with salt and a generous amount of black pepper, and cook, stirring, until the butter is golden, nutty smelling and foaming, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the brussels sprout tops until warmed through. Serve with grated Parmesan.