Gluten-Free Creamy Gnocchi with Crispy Bacon and Mushroom
Servings Serves 4 as a main, or 6 as a lighter meal
Prep time
15 minsTotal time
15 minsThis gluten-free creamy gnocchi is proper comfort food and much more straightforward than it looks. Using packet gluten-free gnocchi keeps things simple, while crispy bacon, mushroom, silverbeet, cream and parmesan make it feel like a real treat. It is a one-pan, one-pot weeknight dinner that delivers plenty of flavour without a lot of fuss.
Ingredients
Method
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil and keep it ready.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp and golden. Lift it out with a slotted spoon. If there is a lot of fat in the pan, spoon a little out and reserve it.
- Add the mushroom to the pan, topside down, along with the stalk pieces, and leave it alone long enough to get some proper colour. Once it is golden at the edges, turn it and cook until rich-looking and almost meaty.
- If the pan looks dry, add a little of the reserved bacon fat back in, or a drizzle of olive oil. Add the silverbeet stalks and cook for 1 minute until they just start to soften.
- Now cook the gnocchi. Drop it into the boiling water. Once the gnocchi float, allow them to simmer for 2 minutes, then lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain well. Reserve a few tablespoons of the cooking water.
- Lower the pan to medium. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and stir for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the gnocchi to the pan and toss gently to combine.
- Pour in the cream and add most of the bacon back in, saving a little for the top. Let it bubble and reduce for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add a splash of the gnocchi cooking water if needed to loosen the sauce.
- Add the silverbeet leaves and toss until just wilted.
- Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano or parmesan and a good crack of black pepper. Toss until glossy.
- Taste before adding salt. Between the bacon, cheese and salted gnocchi water, you may not need any.
- Scatter over the last of the bacon and a little extra cheese if you like, then serve straight away.
Simon Says
- Cook the gnocchi later, not right at the start. It is much happier going into the pan hot.
- Once the gnocchi float, give them 2 minutes of simmering so they are properly heated through before they hit the pan.
- Leave the mushroom alone long enough to colour up. If you keep fiddling with it, it will never get there.
- A splash of gnocchi water is your insurance policy if the sauce tightens up.
- Spinach works well if you do not have silverbeet.
Simon’s Tips
- Packet gluten-free gnocchi makes this a very easy dinner, but it still pays to treat it properly and not overcook it.
- If there is a lot of bacon fat in the pan, spoon a little out and add it back only if you need it.
- The bacon and cheese bring plenty of seasoning, so always taste before adding extra salt.
- The mushroom wants proper colour. Good colour equals better flavour.
- This dish is best served hot from the pan while the sauce is still glossy and creamy.
© Simon Gault. All rights reserved.
Simon Gault's Homemade Lamb Gravy
Servings 4-6
Prep time
5 minsCook time
10 minsTotal time
15 minsA good lamb gravy can make the whole meal. This is the one I make every time I roast lamb at home. It's quick to make, full of flavour and goes with just about any roast lamb, whether it's an oyster shoulder, leg, rack or another favourite cut.
If you're making my Roast Oyster Shoulder of Lamb, you'll find that recipe in the recipe section of this website. These two recipes were created to go together.
Ingredients
Method
- Pour the red wine into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until reduced by approximately one third.
- Add the roasted onions from beneath the lamb.
- Stir the Gault's Lamb Stock Concentrate into the water, then pour into the saucepan and bring back to the boil.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar and a generous grind of cracked black pepper.
- Combine the cornflour and cold water to make a smooth slurry.
- Slowly whisk the cornflour slurry into the simmering gravy.
- If you used Gault's Moroccan Seasoning on the lamb, add a healthy pinch to the gravy for an extra layer of flavour.
- Simmer gently for 2 minutes until the gravy has thickened.
- Stir through the chopped fresh parsley. For a glossy finish, add the cold butter and gently swirl the pan until melted.
- Serve immediately over Roast Oyster Shoulder of Lamb or your favourite roast lamb cut.
Simon Says
- Cook to temperature, not time.
- Every oyster shoulder is a different size. A meat thermometer takes the guesswork out. Once it reaches 92 to 95°C, it'll be tender and still hold its shape when sliced.
- Why I don't deglaze the roasting tray.
- People often ask why I don't scrape all the juices out of the roasting tray. The answer is simple. When I roast oyster shoulder slowly at 160°C, what's left in the tray is mostly rendered lamb fat. I'd rather leave that behind and build the gravy with the roasted onions, red wine and Gault's Lamb Stock Concentrate instead. It gives a cleaner, richer tasting gravy.
- Use a good balsamic.
- You're only using a tablespoon, so it's worth using a good one. It gives the gravy a bit of lift without making it sweet.
- Add the cornflour slurry slowly.
- Whisk it in a little at a time and keep an eye on the consistency. You may not need all of the slurry. Once the gravy is as thick as you like it, let it simmer for a couple of minutes before serving.
© Simon Gault. All rights reserved.