Asparagus and pea gnocchi

A new recipe has been a little while in the making, sorry! I have been heavily focused on the vegetable garden and it’s preparation for Summer. This recipe is inspired by the wonderful Spring produce and is my favourite type of weekday dinner – quick, healthy and full of fresh ingredients.

I reluctantly removed the worn out pea plants from the garden on the weekend. They have been provided a wonderful nutty crunch to many meals over the last few months. I am sad to see them go. They were very productive this year and really handy to have available to collect regularly to add to meals. They have also been a sought after snack at the end of the school day. The plants require very little attention once they settle in their growing space so if you have not previously tried growing them I encourage you to consider them next Winter. I love the cool crispness and crunch of peas so it seems a little strange to me that beans are not a Winter vegetable because I think they are best cooked, and peas are amazing either raw or cooked. They seem to be in the wrong season…

In the past I have made my own gnocchi, especially after learning to do so in the traditional way while I was at cooking school in Italy. You can find that recipe here.

Unfortunately since then, my son and I are no longer able to tolerate egg so I gave up on pasta for a long while. On my hunt for food that suits both my digestive disorder and his intolerances I discovered a potato gnocchi that is both egg and gluten free and also dairy free.  It is purchased as a ready to cook pasta and is handy to have on hand in the pantry for the days where dinner time arrives much to fast and not much on hand except some bits and pieces from the fridge and garden. This is actually my perfect type of meal – quick, healthy, fresh and tasty. We have really enjoyed having pasta back on the menu once in a while since discovering this gnocchi.    I hope you love it as much as we do.  Make sure you give it a good grind of fresh pepper prior to serving (maybe not for the kids).

This is my recipe for Spring Baked Asparagus Gnocchi. I created it to share with the readers of the Geelong Surf Coast Living Magazine, Spring 2017 edition. Enjoy!

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Spring Baked Asparagus Gnocchi

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

Quick and easy pasta bake flavoured with seasonal Spring vegetables asparagus and peas. Gluten, dairy and egg free.

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean

Keyword: dairy free, egg free, gluten free, pasta, seasonal, spring

Servings: 4

Author: Kyrstie Barcak

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon zest and juice
• 4 slices prosciutto
• 500 gm gnocchi pre-made
• ¾ cup fresh peas (or frozen)
• 1 bunch asparagus cut into thirds

To Serve:

• 2 handfuls fresh parsley, kale, spinach finely chopped
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 170 degrees celcius (fan forced)

2. Heat a pan over medium heat on the stove top

3. Add the oil, lemon zest and 2 slices of the prosciutto. Allow it to cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant and the prosciutto starts to colour.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the gnocchi, peas, asparagus, ½ of the lemon juice. Gently stir to coat with the flavours that are in the base of the pan

5. Move the pan to the oven and cook for 15-17 minutes until the asparagus is tender. Gently stir the ingredients in the pan once during cooking

6. To serve add the remaining lemon juice, stir through the chopped parsley and greens and season with cracked pepper. Add freshly grated Parmesan if dairy is tolerated.

Recipe Notes

This recipe uses a pan that can be transferred from the hot plate to the oven.  If you do not have a suitable pan you can complete steps 1-4 on the stove top and then transfer the ingredients to a baking dish suited to the oven.

I have now planted half of my Summer plants into the garden and see the Spring plants beginning to head to seed as the warmth increases. Enjoy the Spring produce while it lasts.