Gnocchi with Butternut Squash and Kale is hands down one of our favorite meatless meals that I make on a regular basis. This gnocchi dish also scores mega points for being fast (30 min), easy (one pot meal) and cheap. I do splurge on fresh sage for this dinner but I try to pair another meal on the same week which also highlights sage so I get the most bang for my buck.
The kids are so-so because of the green kale, but if I take the time to spoon out the soft gnocchi and butternut squash, they will gobble this up. My clincher is to use the parmesan cheese grater after I serve them. There is something about that experience of watching freshly grated cheese drape over your entire plate that makes your mouth salivate.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 bag of pre-diced butternut squash (sure you could purchase a whole butternut squash, and peel, seed, and dice it yourself but I'm no Martha Stewart!)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh sage
1 to 2 dashes of red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
1 1/4 cups chicken broth (I like Better than Bouillon mixed with water)
1 bunch kale, stemmed and roughly chopped (about 8 cups)
1 17.5-ounce package potato gnocchi
1 cup (or more) freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
Directions
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the squash and cook, stirring, until slightly soft and golden, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, sage, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until the garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.
Preheat the broiler. Add the chicken broth to the skillet. When it starts to simmer, stir in the
kale and cook until it wilts slightly, about 1 minutes. Add the gnocchi, stirring to coat. Cover and cook until the gnocchi are just tender, about 5 minutes.
Uncover and stir in 1/2 cup parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan; transfer to the broiler and cook until golden and bubbly, about 3 minutes.