Gnocchi and Wilted Spinach Salad
Heavenly Gnocchi and Wilted Spinach Salad. Even the pickiest eaters will love this salad!
Ok, ok, OK, ok, okay, OKAY! So this isn’t the lightest salad to we’ve ever made. I admit it!
Yet it is the salad that will have everyone asking for seconds and thirds.
A double helping of greens, people, doesn’t that count for something?
My kids will eat just about anything; a fact that would make any kitchen-crazed mamma brim with pride!
It took a bit of work through the toddler years, but we arrived at “palate maturity” at the weathered ages of 5 1/2 and 8.
Raw oysters? Yes.
Sushi? Yes.
Spicy foods? Absolutely.
Ripe stinky cheeses? You bet.
Veggies of all shapes and sizes… My two kids will try whatever I put in front of them, and usually enjoy it.
Yet ask for seconds on salad? Never.
That is, until greens started mingling with gnocchi. Oh, how the tides have turned!
If you’ve been reading ASP for a while, you may remember that my husband has a habit of inviting people over for dinner on short notice.
What’s even better, sometimes it’s only short notice for me. He may have phoned our friends a week earlier, but simply forgot to tell me until 5 pm the day of!
(I know what you’re thinking, but he’s still a keeper.)
To make amends, he offers to run to the store or help in the kitchen. Whatever it takes.
One of these particular evenings, I was scrounging in the pantry to come up with a suitable meal for first-time guests, when I found a package of pre-made gnocchi.
Inspiration hit!
We made this hearty Gnocchi and Wilted Spinach Salad to serve as a first-course, in order to buy more cooking time for the rest of the meal.
After that, no other salad has quite stacked up.
Ask my kids. They’ll tell you, this Gnocchi and Wilted Spinach Salad recipe is legit.
Gnocchi and Wilted Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound packaged gnocchi
- 5-6 ounces baby spinach leaves
- 4 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup walnut pieces
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 cup dried cherries, optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon to the skillet and sizzle until red and crispy. Add the shallots to the bacon and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Then add the walnuts and nutmeg.
- Meanwhile drop the gnocchi into the boiling water. Cook until all the gnocchi are floating, about 3-4 minutes. Once the gnocchi is ready, use a slotted spoon to transfer it to the skillet.
- Add the cherries and stir. Finally add the lemon juice, honey and 2-3 tablespoons of pasta water. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the spinach in a large salad bowl. Pour the hot gnocchi mixture over the spinach and toss. Serve immediately!
Pingback: Gnocchi Recipes You Will Love - A Little Craft In Your Day
Pingback: How to Eat Gnocchi for Every Meal – Bainbridge Today
I have noticed you don’t monetize your blog,
don’t waste your traffic, you can earn additional bucks every month because you’ve got hi quality content.
If you want to know how to make extra money, search for:
Mertiso’s tips best adsense alternative
I made this yesterday evening. I left out the bacon as my daughter is vegetarian, and unfortunately I can’t get dried cherries but did the rest of the recipe as written.
It was delicious. I’m sure the bacon adds another level of taste but I was lucky my daughter ate turkey on Christmas day (now her one day a year to eat meat.. ) so I didn’t want to push it. If I do it for myself again though I’ll definitely add the bacon.
Even without the bacon and cherries it was delicious. The lemon and honey give a tart but sweet flavour which really makes you want to have more (we both had second helpings).
I’ve printed the recipe and stuck it to the fridge so I can make it again soon :)
Thank you for sharing the recipe and Happy New Year
Great salad….Congratulations.. however, here it is still a bit cold, the “artificial” baby spinach is really not good….I am . however, thinking of all those summer salads enjoying at the same time simple hearty soups…
kind regards
magdalena
up here often. I am quite sure they will learn lots of new stuff here than anybody else!
This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I enjoy seeing websites that understand the value of providing a prime resource for free. I truly loved reading your post. Thanks!
This looks amazing. I can imagine your kids enjoying it too!
Wow. Putting this salad together on such short notice was pure inspiration. Of COURSE everything's better with bacon, but that still leaves a lot of wiggle room. This looks amazing.
Kudos to your children for their open culinary minds. It will serve them so well as they grow. Keeping my fingers crossed that the door to Dudette's mind will open a bit more in that way.