Baked Gnocchi Parmesan

About a year ago, Pat and I went out to eat at Leonardo’s with Brooke and Joe. For some reason, I ordered baked Gnocchi Parmesan, which is weird because I rarely order that. It was beyond fabulous... I seriously want to go back to that place just to have that meal again. DELISH!

I've always wanted to attempt my own gnocchi but felt intimidated. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and prepared to make this version from Cooking Light.



While this was more labor-intensive than I even realized, it was enjoyable to make. I actually had fun rolling out the potatoes and rolling them along my fork. Hee hee! They tasted pretty yummy too. I wish I had made more.

Note to Cooking Light - 10 gnocchi is NOT a serving! That's, like, an appetizer!

Ingredients:
Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Gnocchi:

• 2 1/2 pounds large baking potatoes
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 gallon water
• handful mozzarella cheese

Preparation
To prepare sauce, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 3 minutes. Remove meat from pan, and cool slightly.

Heat pan over medium heat. Add onion, , carrot, and garlic cloves; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chopped meat, milk, 3/4 teaspoon salt, tomatoes, and bay leaf; bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Uncover and cook 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley and thyme; cook 15 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf.

To prepare the gnocchi, preheat oven to 400°.

Bake potatoes at 400° for 1 1/2 hours or until done; cool slightly. Cut each potato in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp. Discard skins. Mash pulp. Place 4 cups mashed potatoes in a large bowl, reserving remaining mashed potatoes for another use. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 1 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and egg yolks to 4 cups mashed potatoes, and stir to combine. Knead until smooth (about 2 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).

Divide dough into 6 portions. Shape each portion into a 10-inch-long rope. Cut each rope into 10 (1-inch) pieces; roll each piece into a ball. Working with one dough piece at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), using your thumb or index finger, roll dough piece down the tines of a lightly floured fork (gnocchi will have ridges on one side and an indention on the other).

Place gnocchi on a lightly floured baking sheet.

Bring 1 gallon water to a boil in a large stockpot. Add half of gnocchi; cook 3 minutes or until done (gnocchi will rise to the surface). Remove cooked gnocchi with a slotted spoon; place in a colander. Repeat procedure with remaining uncooked gnocchi.

Place in baking dish and cover with sauce and mozzarella. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 10 gnocchi, 3/4 cup sauce, and 1 tablespoon cheese)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 475(22% from fat); FAT 11.6g (sat 4.5g,mono 4.3g,poly 1.5g); IRON 6.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 129mg; CALCIUM 271mg; CARBOHYDRATE 67.7g; SODIUM 788mg; PROTEIN 31.4g; FIBER 8.4g
Lorrie Hulston Corvin , Cooking Light, APRIL 2004