This is my go-to dish for a quick, crowd-pleasing, nutritious one-dish dinner during the colder months. It doubles easily. Not in a hurry? You can always make homemade potato gnocchi to use instead of store-bought.
Note that this recipe calls for chard, but any cooking green works just as well. Cook heartier greens like kale or collards longer, and more delicate spinach for only the last minute of gnocchi cooking time.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 large bunch Swiss chard (feel free to use golden, red, or rainbow chard, but know that they will tint the entire dish)
- Salt
- 1 package (approx. 1 lb.) potato gnocchi
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Butter (for dish)
Preparation:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut stems out of chard leaves (make a "v" around the stem to cut out as much of the stem as possible). Chop stems and leaves separately and set aside.
- Add enough salt to boiling water to make it taste salty. Add chopped chard stems. Cook until almost tender, about 3 minutes. Add gnocchi and chopped chard leaves. Cook until gnocchi are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Drain.
- Put gnocchi and chard in a large bowl and toss with ricotta. Add nutmeg, if you like, pepper, and salt to taste. Toss to combine. Put gnocchi mixture in a generously buttered baking dish (I like to use a large one so all the gnocchi get crispy).
- Sprinkle gnocchi with Parmesan cheese. Broil until cheese melts and entire dish gets browned and crispy.
Makes 4 servings Baked Gnocchi With Chard and Ricotta.
