12 April 2011

Parmesan gnocchi & tenderstem broccoli.

There is chicken there, somewhere!
One of the two recipes that had been carried over until the following week, was a pot roasted chicken accompanied by parmesan gnocchi & tenderstem broccoli.

I was very keen to do this recipe, as I am constantly on the lookout for vegetable side dishes to have with pot-roast chicken.  There's only so many times you can have roast potatoes, lovely as they are.

The great benefit of this recipe was that I could cook the chicken in the morning, then take the meat from the bones and re-heat it for dinner that evening - and the same for the following day.  Oh, and let's not discount the using of the carcass and cooking liquid for stock and/or chicken soup!  The gnocchi recipe seemed to be very easy and wouldn't be too hard on me to produce.

As it was, as a last minute addition, I decided to roast some courgettes and cherry tomatoes to go alongside the gnocchi/tenderstem broccoli dish - and I was very glad of them.  Although the gnocchi dish is delicious, it would have been better served with a robust form of meat such as gammon steaks or roasted gammon.  With the chicken, it tended to muscle the lovely chicken out of the way like a big, burly bouncer would do.  "If yer name's not down on the list (beside the garlic), then you're not comin' in".  As a consequence, it needed the acidity of the cherry tomatoes to provide the balance.  When I do the gnocchi dish again, I'll make sure to do some cherry tomatoes with it unless it's accompanying something with tomato as one of the main players.


Please don't take that as a negative view of this dish, as the softness of the gnocchi provides a lovely counterbalance to the crispness of the tenderstem broccoli, and the freshness of the broccoli provides a counterbalance to the richness of the parmesan.  I'll definitely be doing the gnocchi again, as quite apart from anything else, it's the first gnocchi dish I've ever really liked!


PARMESAN GNOCCHI & TENDERSTEM BROCCOLI  (serves 3)


Ingredients :


a knob of butter
1 garlic clove, grated
teensy pinch of chilli flakes
150ml vegetable or chicken stock (depending on what you're serving it with)
5-6 tbsp creme fraiche (I used a low fat version)
60g parmesan, finely grated
250g tenderstem broccoli, halved lengthways if large
250g gnocchi.


Method :


1.  Heat a large pan of salted water until boiling.  While it's heating :


2.  Heat the knob of butter in a frying pan and cook the garlic and chilli for 2 minutes.


3.  Add the stock, bringing to a boil and continue boiling until reduced by three-quarters.


4.  In the meantime, cook the broccoli until just tender.

5.  Whisk in the creme fraiche and parmesan to the stock, to make the sauce.

6.  Add the broccoli when done and retain the cooking water, to which you should add the gnocchi and cook following pack instructions (around 3 mins).  Drain and add to the broccoli and sauce.

7.  Toss to cover with the sauce and serve.


.

7 comments:

  1. A really fantastic dish.....
    Gnocchi.....These mean so, so much to me, and every time l see the word....It takes me back...
    Way back.....! :).
    If anyone wants to take a look at my Blog, it's only a personal one, a friend did for me, a couple of years ago. ssssssh! don't tell, but, l don't know how to....! But still, it's coming up to 20,000 viewings. So.....
    Where was l...Oh! yes, there's a photo of me, on there, near the top, aged 1yr old. That's about the time, according to my Mum, l started making gnocchi. And, have been making them ever since. Don't know what it is, but l have some kind of feeling for them.
    And, if you make them yourself, you enjoy and love them even more.....God, where did l put those tissues. Sorry.....! :) Ah!
    Well, there ya goooo.......Love my food....! :0).
    Remember......
    "If your a rich man, eat when you will. If poor, when you can".

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm loosing it....I'm loosing it...
    Sorry....It's the Gnocchi...
    My Blog..If you want to take a look....
    williewine.blogspot.com/ (But, give yourself half hour). :). It's a bit of fun too...!

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  3. Gosh, I obviously hit upon a favourite there! Hubby keeps on at me to make my own gnocchi, but I keep replying that life's too short to make your own gnocchi. However, I'm fast coming to the conclusion that I'm going to have to give it a go! :)

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