Homemade Spinach and Potato Gnocchi

 

Potato and Spinach Gnocchi | Photo by HealthyandLazy

Saturday afternoon, not much going on, hanging out at the house watching movies and surfing the web and it hits me – tonight would be a great night for gnocchi.

When I was studying in Italy, I had some of the best gnocchi ever, specific meals that I still remember years later.  I’ve had it at restaurants and I’ve bought packaged gnocchi that is super quick to make at home.  BUT, until yesterday, I had never made it myself, from scratch.

So, I looked up some recipes online and set to work.  Turns out, just about every potato gnocchi recipe on the web is the same, but I liked this one because of the spinach (definitely a blog worth reading, too).

Let’s start with the positives – it was delicious, it was fun, it was filling.  I had a great time making the gnocchi.  I used every space in my kitchen and then some.

The downside?  It took forever.  I wasn’t exactly rushing through it, but the meal clocked in at just under 3 hours from start to delicious finish – it was like the Super Bowl of healthy/lazy cooking.  Oh, and I somehow managed to dust the kitchen, the dining room and my entire body in a fine layer of flour.  Perhaps careful cooking could avoid the flour problem, but it’s in my nature to be a little sloppy in the kitchen.

Simple Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes are the best.  There’s really no two ways about it.  They’re packed with vitamins A and C, protein, fiber, iron, calcium, etc.  And, better still, it doesn’t take much work to prepare them.  Before we get there, though, let’s talk about…

Pesticides.

Sorry, the recipe is short, so it’s coming with a shameless plug for your neighborhood farmers’ market.  Potatoes are root vegetables, which means (simply) they grow underground.  They draw their nutrients from the soils around them, soaking up the good stuff they need, as well as the bad stuff we dump on them.  There is overwhelming scientific evidence to show that these pesticides have negative effects on the human body.  One way to avoid this problem?  Buy your fruits and veggies, especially ones with edible skins (root vegetables, grapes, apples, etc), from your local farmer’s market.  Most market vendors are organic, and they are usually at the market to field your questions.  Most times, prices are comparable to your big box grocer, but the food will be fresher and healthier, and you’ll be supporting a local business in the process.  Granted, talking about pesticides before cooking is unconventional, but these choices matter – both on a personal level and a global one.

So, you’ve got your potatoes from the farmers’ market and you’re ready to cook.  Let’s go…