Gnocchi with Kale and "Sausage"
with zucchini and pine nut salad
Get the flavor of sausage without all the fat in our "homemade" version. Served with sauteed kale, these two ingredients are perfect for gnocchi topping (use your favorite pasta shape if you can't find gnocchi. Paleo and gluten-free options use scrambled eggs instead). I paired this dinner with a zucchini salad, which may just be my new favorite salad ingredient - it's crunchy, light, and takes on the dressing incredibly well!
Ingredients
- Zucchini - 1, peeled
- Mint - 2 sprigs, sliced into ribbons
- Dijon mustard - 2 tsp
- Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
- Red wine vinegar - 2 Tbsp
- Olive oil - 4 Tbsp
- Mixed greens - 4 oz
- Pine nuts - 1/4 cup
- Ground meat - 1 lb ((I used ground beef but feel free to use anything))
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
- Red chili / pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Onions - 1, diced
- Kale - 1 bunch, leaves / stems separated
- Gnocchi - 1 lb ((If you can't find vacuum-packed gnocchi in pasta section, go for your favorite pasta shape.))
- Olive oil - 2 Tbsp
- Cooking oil - 1 Tbsp
- Tomato paste - 1/3 cup
- Lemon - 1/2, juice of
- Parmesan (optional) - for serving
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Ground meat - Season ground meat with salt, fennel seeds, black pepper, and red chili flakes. (Can be done up to 1 day ahead)
- Garlic / Onions / Kale - Prep as directed. For kale, separate kale stems and leaves and chop stems into 1/2" (1.25cm) pieces. (Can be done up 3 days ahead)
- Zucchini - Peel off skin. Now use peeler to peel off ribbons of zucchini.
- Mint - Slice into ribbons.
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Make
- Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Salt heavily (that water should taste like the ocean!) and add gnocchi. Cook according to package instructions. Drain, toss with 2 tbs. of olive oil, and set aside.
- Whisk together mustard, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. Season to taste with salt & pepper, and set aside.
- Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil and then garlic to heated oil. Once you can smell the garlic, add the kale stems and onions with a dash of salt. Saute until softened, ~3 minutes.
- Add in ground meat and tomato paste, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Brown meat, 5 to 7 minutes. If there's a lot of grease, drain from pan leaving just about 1 tbs.
- Add in kale leaves, as much as can fit into the pan. With each addition, add a pinch of salt. Saute until all the kale leaves are in the pan and wilted.
- Add gnocchi back into the pan, toss everything through, and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve warm with parmesan cheese.
- Toss vinaigrette with zucchini, mint, and greens. Top with pine nuts and enjoy with gnocchi.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
22 reviews
Not a huge fan of this meal. Found out there is gluten free gnocchi though so you could sub that in your recipe.
0 HelpfulI used 5 oz of spinach. Would add a bit more next time. Used cumin instead of fennel. Added about 8 oz of zucchini to the meat as well. I would do the actual amount listed of red chili pepper since i barely tasted it only using 1/4 tsp. Would cook the meat separate from the veggies so it would be easier to drain excess fat.
0 HelpfulUsed the original recipe with the exception of veggie sausage in the place of meat and dill in place of fennel.
0 HelpfulI omitted the fennel, substituted tomato sauce for the paste (8 oz) and skipped the side dish. My whole family loved this and my picky pasta hating sauce hating four year old ate ALL of it!!
0 Helpful