Three Cheese Baked Gnocchi With Spinach Food

BAKED GNOCCHI WITH SAGE AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Fill a large saucepan with water. Add potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Continue to boil until potatoes are very soft, about 15 minutes. Drain and run through a food mill or a ricer for a nice, smooth consistency. Place potatoes in a bowl and refrigerate until they are cool, 15 to 20 minutes; this will help keep them fluffy.
• Dust 2 sheet pans with flour and set aside.
• Mix cooled potatoes and 1 1/2 cups flour together on a clean work surface. Knead until dough is soft and smooth, 4 to 5 minutes, adding only enough flour so dough comes together and is not tacky.
• Cut dough into 4 equal parts. Roll 1/4 of the dough into a 3/4-inch log. Cut the log into 3/4-inch pieces. Roll the pieces over a gnocchi board or the back of a fork to create ridges and place onto a floured sheet pan in a single layer. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Let rolled gnocchi dry for 1 hour before cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook gnocchi in the boiling water until they float to the top, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Melt butter for cheese sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and continue to whisk until it thickens, about 3 minutes. Add Fontina cheese and Parmesan cheese; stir using a spoon until melted. Stir in sage and nutmeg. Stir in cooked gnocchi and transfer to a casserole or baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.

SPINACH GNOCCHI WITH FONTINA CHEESE

Steps:

• Steam potatoes until very tender, about 35 minutes. Cool potatoes slightly and peel. Mash potatoes in large bowl until smooth. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, bring 2 inches of salted water to boil in large pot. Add spinach leaves to pot and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Drain spinach, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from spinach. Puree spinach in processor, adding reserved cooking liquid 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary to help puree and scraping down sides of processor bowl occasionally.
• Transfer spinach mixture to bowl with potatoes. Mix in egg, ground nutmeg and enough flour until soft and slightly sticky dough forms. Season dough to taste with salt.
• Dust baking sheet with flour. Working in batches and using floured hands, roll 1/4 cup dough on lightly floured work surface to form 12-inch rope. Cut rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll each piece between palms to form oval ball. Lightly flour the wires of a whisk. Using thumb, gently roll each ball down length of wires, making ribbed impressions in gnocchi. Transfer gnocchi to prepared baking sheet. Repeat rolling, cutting and shaping of remaining dough.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 13x9-inch baking dish. Working in batches, add gnocchi to large pot of boiling salted water and cook until gnocchi rise to surface of water, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove gnocchi from water, draining off excess, and transfer to prepared baking dish. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over gnocchi; toss thoroughly to coat. Top with Fontina cheese slices. (Gnocchi can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Bake until gnocchi are heated through and cheese bubbles, about 10 minutes.

BAKED SPINACH GNOCCHI

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat the milk and when just on the point of boiling, sprinkle in the semolina in a steady stream, stirring briskly with a wooden spoon.
• Simmer the semolina for 2 minutes then remove from the heat and stir in half the butter, most of the cheese (leave some for topping the bake) and the spinach, nutmeg and salt and pepper; allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the eggs then tip the mixture out onto a shallow baking sheet, spreading it out to 1 ½inch thickness; allow to cool completely, then chill until solid.
• Stamp out the gnocchi with a plain round cutter with a diameter of 1 ½ inches; reserve the trimmings.
• Place the trimmings in the base of a greased shallow ovenproof dish then arrange the gnocchi rounds on top; brush the tops with the remaining butter and sprinkle with the last of the cheese.
• Bake in an oven pre-heated to 375 F, 190 C, gas mark 5, for about 35 minutes until crisp and golden on top; serve hot sprinkled with extra cheese.

CREAMY GNOCCHI, SPINACH AND BROCCOLI BAKE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• In the meanwhile, in a large skilled, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until softened (10 minutes or less).
• Add 1 tbsp flour to the onions/garlic. Stir constantly for 2 minutes. Add the half and half and simmer, stirring constantly until slightly thickened (3 minutes). Stir in the cheese, spinach, broccoli, salt, pepper and spice. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.
• When the water is boiling, cook your gnocchi as per the directions on the package. Drain when done. Add sauce to the gnocchi and stir to coat. (You can either cook it or freeze it at this time).
• Bake in a 350 degree oven, uncovered for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
• IF COOKING FROM FROZEN. . .bake uncovered 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA CHEESE GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Drain the ricotta cheese in a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl until it is very dry. Transfer the cheese to a large bowl and set it aside.
• Cook the spinach in batches in a covered large soup pot with no additional water until the spinach has wilted. Drain it in a colander, and when cool enough to handle, squeeze the spinach as dry as possible with your hands to remove excess water. You should have about 2 cups of squeezed spinach.
• Chop the spinach coarsely, then purée it in a blender or food processor until it is very smooth. Transfer the spinach to the bowl with the cheese and stir in 1/3 cup of the grated cheese, eggs, mint, salt, nutmeg and pepper, and mix well. Begin adding the flour a little at a time until a soft dough is obtained and is not sticking to your hands.
• It is easier to form the gnocchi if the dough is refrigerated for several hours or overnight.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Using two soupspoons, shape heaping tablespoons of the dough into an oval or egg shape then gently slide the dough off the spoon onto the floured surface.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. With a spoon, scoop up about 8 to 10 gnocchi at a time and add them to the water. Boil them until they float.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large sauté pan and stir in the sage leaves. Cover the pan and keep the sauce warm.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove and transfer the gnocchi to the sauce tossing them gently until well coated with the sauce.
• Divide between 8 individual plates and sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup of cheese. Serve hot.

BAKED SPINACH WITH THREE CHEESES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Lightly butter 11 x 7 x 2-inch baking dish.
• Mix first 8 ingredients in large bowl.
• Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat.
• Add spinach; sauté until wilted and juices evaporate, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer spinach to strainer; drain well.
• Let cool slightly and stir into bowl with cheese mixture, mixing well.
• Empty spinach/cheese mixture into prepared dish.
• Bake until heated through, about 30-35 minutes.