Crispy Gluten Free Gnocchi with Rustic Butter Sauce

I love gnocchi and you might be surprised to learn that despite that fact that is made with potatoes, it is not necessarily gluten free. But no worries, I got your back with my crispy gluten free gnocchi recipe. Or, if you prefer, you can make it gluten full because this is one of those rare recipes that gluten free flour can be swapped out one for one with wheat flour.

Gnocchi is surprisingly simple to make. Especially when you compare it to other homemade pastas. I was never very successful making homemade pastas. It’s probably because I have a problem with authority and following instructions. The same reasons I suck at baking. But gnocchi is forgiving. You can always add more flour if needed!

My method of cooking this is probably going to make someone’s Italian grandmother angry, but I like to make this with leftover mashed potatoes. I also like to form my gnocchi into rounds, like mini meatballs. And for my final act of blasphemy, I don’t boil these potato cloud babies. I mean, what’s the point of that when they are fresh and already cooked. Throw them in a pan with some butter and get those crispy gluten free gnocchi ready to meet its match with a super simple, rustic sauce. I combine some grape tomatoes with plenty of garlic, crisp up some sausage, add a handful of basil and mozzarella and you got yourself a delicious dinner.

Serves 4

Suggested Wine Pairing

I like a zinfandel with this. It’s earthy to match the potatoes but balances out the tomatoes perfectly.

Ingredients:

3 cups of leftover (or not) mashed potatoes

1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour, plus extra for rolling

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon of salt

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 quart of grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 pound of sausage, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup basil, chiffonade

1/2 cup mozzarella

Instructions:

1. Combine the mashed potatoes with egg, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir it all together until the mixture looks like dough. Add more flour as needed if the mixture is too sticky or wet.
2. On a clean counter top, spread some flour to reduce sticking. Separate the potato mixture into 4 sections. Take each section and roll the dough into snakes by hand. Cut into 1/2 inch sections and roll into little balls. Repeat with all of sections.
3. To make the sauce, in a large skillet, heat up the olive oil over medium heat and add the sausage. Allow that to brown for about 5 minutes.
4. Add in the tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
5. Add in the garlic and basil and stir to combine. Cook for another minute and remove from heat.
6. To cook the gnocchi, add 2 tablespoons of butter to a large skillet over medium high heat. Once it is melted, add the gnocchi taking care not to crowd the pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side until the gnocchi is just browned. This may take a few batches.
7. To serve, add the gnocchi to a serving bowl or platter and top with mozzarella cheese. Top with the tomato, sausage, and basil sauce and enjoy!

If you like this recipe, be sure to try my other gnocchi recipe for with salmon and butternut squash that uses packaged gnocchi in a super simple way!