Description
This lemon gnocchi with spinach and peas is bright and lemony and just as easy as cooking pasta. It’s perfect for weekday meals and is loaded with healthy spinach and peas.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 cups frozen baby peas (not thawed)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 4–5 ounces baby spinach
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
- 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 pound dried gnocchi
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
- Kosher salt, to taste
Instructions
- Make sauce. In a large 12-inch skillet, stir in peas, cream, half and half, and a pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Cook, covered, until the peas are just tender, about 5 minutes.
- Cook spinach. Add the spinach and continue cooking, covered for the first 2 minutes and then uncovered. Toss the spinach in the hot cream mixture until wilted. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest and juice.
- Cook gnocchi. Meanwhile, cook gnocchi in a pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until just tender according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain gnocchi.
- Toss together. Add gnocchi and parmesan cheese to the cream mixture and toss to coat. Thin sauce with reserved cooking water as needed. Season with salt to taste and top with additional parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
- I also like to add snow peas to this recipe. I like the extra texture they add but the rest of the family is lukewarm about it so I left them out of the recipe above. If you would like to add snow peas, simmer 2 cups of snow peas with the cream for about 3 minutes before adding the frozen peas. Proceed with the recipe as written.
- Recipe adapted from Gourmet, December 2007.
