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!
I see a top 9 in this salads future.
Lucky you get ready made Gnocchis!! The salad really looks refreshing and healthy. Like the wilted spinach in it. A healthy start for 2011.
Now THIS is a main-dish salad!! So creative!! Of course, I'm partial to anything with bacon in it :) I am also very impressed that your kids eat anything you put in front of them!! Well done, mom of the year!! :)
Pan frying the gnocchi is a brilliant idea, it must give them a little extra boost in color and flavor before they go into the salad.
By the way, I'm quite impressed at your calm under fire with last minute dinner guests!
Ohhh this salad looks divine!!!
Looks like an amazing dish.The combo of gnocchi and salad has never occurred to me. What a great dish.
Chicken and Gnocchi soup is one of my favs at the Olive Garden.Your Salad looks so fresh.And with that generous serving of gnocchi I wont mind having it on a snowy day even!Happy New Year!
Your salad looks and sounds really delicious!
This looks amazing! I love gnocchi and this is such a creative way to eat it!
Oh my goodness, my girlfriends are going to love this. We have a brunch planned next Monday and I'm for sure making this. I'll let you know if mine comes out half as good as yours:)So awesome that your kids are willing to try whatever you put before them. It's a beautiful thing.
This is the first time I see gnocchi incorporated into a salad and I love it! beautiful photos too!
This looks delicious. I'll have to remember this next time I make gnocchi!
It is so wonderful to hear that your kids are such good eaters! Yay for foodie parents! And I'm very impressed with your last minute party skills. I would get so flustered. This salad looks just delicious. Thank you so much for sharing it with me!
I made a salad yesterday with steak, mixed greens and um, french fries but was probably the fattiest and most delicious salad ever. This is lovely and you totally piqued my interest because of the gnocchi, it's been in my head lately.
wow this is my kind of meal and I would freak if my hubby did this to me he he
Oh my word gnocchi in a salad!!! This looks soooo good. I would seriously have a hard time not eating the whole salad. YUM!
I'd go for seconds of this. Plus it would be easy to keep most of the ingredients on hang "just in case".
I'd grab seconds and thirds with this! Maybe I'll just pop over one day. =)