Name: Gnocchi with Pancetta, Mushroom and Spinach
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 16 min
Total time: 26 min
Yield: 6 cups
Ingredients: 1 pound ricotta cheese (full fat); 1 cup white flour; 2 - 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 pound Gnocchi (recipe here); 6 ounces pancetta (chopped); 10 ounces baby portobello mushrooms (sliced); 5 ounces baby spinach; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 2 teaspoons garlic paste (or 2 cloves, crushed)

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This gnocchi with pancetta mushroom and spinach recipe is a favorite here at my house. My guests request it and I oblige them, so I can be the hero! You can be a hero too by making these delicious squishy gnocchi!

Vacations

I’ll state the obvious, but aren’t vacations the best thing ever?

This is the second year that Christopher and I took two weeks off in a row. I think (I hope!) one week vacations are a thing of the past for us.

One week is never enough. It always feels to me that I don’t truly relax until the 5th day. By then, you only have two days left.

*Dressed as Gandalf, standing on the bridge of Khazad-dûm, taking my staff and banging it on the bridge*

“NOT ENOUGH!”, I say.

The Beach

Every year, we try to coordinate some of our vacation time to coincide with when our cousins are on vacation. Woohoo! We have so much fun with them. (And their dog, whom I adore.) We get to spend a couple of days at their house on the beach.

Here’s what we do: relax, drink, eat, walk the beach, drink, play many games, drink, eat and laugh. And not in that order.

Before we stayed with them in July, I asked them what they wanted me to bring for a meal. I texted them a few photos of some meals I could make.

They replied, “All of them.”

We were staying only two nights, mind you! Haha!

Since they wouldn’t narrow it down, I picked this gnocchi with pancetta mushroom and spinach to bring as a main meal. Here’s what else I brought:

Plus, they cooked, too! So we had plenty to eat. And drink!

Here’s a photo that was taken while we were staying with them last year. It’s me in a grocery store, with a jaunty skunk dog toy on my head. Notice the chick behind me giving me the eye?

Hehe.

How to make the Gnocchi with Pancetta

The ingredients: we have mushrooms, pancetta, spinach, ricotta cheese, flour and parmesan cheese.

Gnocchi is my Friend

First thing I do is make the gnocchi. I won’t go into that today, but you can see the recipe here. I set the gnocchi aside and put some water on to boil.

Next, I start on the rest of the recipe.

I put my wok on the stove, turn the heat on medium and add the pancetta. Then I let it sauté for 6 minutes, until the meat is crispy.

In addition I remove the pancetta from the wok and set it aside. Finally I add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pancetta fat and sauté the spinach and mushrooms. This makes a yummy ‘sauce’ for the gnocchi.

The veggies only take 5 minutes and right before they are done, I squeeze in 2 teaspoons of garlic paste.

Doesn’t that look good?

By now, the water is boiling so I salt it and add the gnocchi. You know each gnocchi is done when it floats to the top of the water. I take my hand strainer and fish out the finished gnocchi until all of them are cooked.

I place the little pillows of happiness aka the gnocchi with pancetta, mushrooms and spinach in a serving bowl and ladle some veggies on top. The rest of the veggies, I place in a side bowl to add as needed!

Let’s see some gnocchi on a fork!

I hope you enjoyed this gnocchi with pancetta mushroom and spinach recipe. Believe me, when you make it, it will be a family favorite. It is so tasty!

Please feel free to leave me a gnocchi loving comment!

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this gnocchi with pancetta or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!