Here's the Dish ~ Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce

Talk about a deal! The other week my favorite local produce market was selling these boxes of Delallo gnocchi for 69 cents each. I made sure to grab a few. Ever tried gnocchi? They are little Italian dumplings that can be made of flour, semolina or potato. I would love to learn how to make them. Someday, I plan to, but for now I will settle for the ones that come in the box and only take about four minutes to cook. They're actually not bad, and these are whole wheat, which is supposed to be better for you than pasta made with white flour. When I've had gnocchi in the past, they've either been served with a tomato based sauce or a cream sauce. I wasn't in the mood for tomato sauce, and I didn't want to eat anything really heavy, like an alfredo sauce. I happened to notice a recipe on the side of the box for Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce. I already had many of the ingredients and it sounded pretty good. Ya know what? It was deeeelicious!! The recipe is below, if you'd like to try it for yourself. As you can see, I went a little heavy on the cheese, but that is because I am a cheese freak. Yes, it's bad, I know. Actually, it wasn't even necessary ~ this dish would still have been great without it.

Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients:

1 16oz package Whole Wheat Gnocchi

2 tablespoons butter (1/4 stick)

2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

12 ounces fresh mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (porcini, portobello, or shitake)

1/2 cup diced shallots

1 3/4 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

1/3 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Cook gnocchi according to package directions and drain.

Heat butter and olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat until butter begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add stock and sage; simmer until liquid is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add hot gnocchi to sauce in skillet and toss to coat.

Serve with cheese sprinkled on top.

Serves 2-4