Creamy Bacon & Sundried Tomato Gnocchi, is a dish that I have made a few times before over the years, yet, I can’t remember exactly how I stumbled on to it, or why I decided to try it out in the first place, but, for whatever reason, I’m glad, I did.
As much as I want to, I can’t take full credit for this little creation, as it rightfully deserves to go to the great people at Leggo’s. The makers, and creators of pre-made pasta and stir-through sauces, amongst other things. You can usually find this particular product on just about any supermarket shelf, in the pasta aisle.
For this recipe, I use the Leggo’s Sundried Tomato & Roasted Garlic Stir Through sauce, which I have used before in my Pasta Stir Through with Bacon.
This sauce is a godsend for when time is short and you want to get something delicious on the table fast. It is a well-balanced blend of sundried tomatoes, garlic and olive oil and with those three main ingredients, you can well imagine that the taste is; intense and full-bodied.
As soon as you pop the lid off the jar, the garlicky aroma hits you, followed by the first visual sight of a small puddle of slightly orangey olive oil that has surfaced to the top of the jar. Which, if I’d shaken prior to opening, probably wouldn’t have been there.
But hey, then, I wouldn’t have been able to share the story about the mess that it made on my kitchen benchtop, after I plunged a spoon into it; whilst endeavoring to give it a good stir before measuring out what I needed.
The recipe itself is really easy, with only a handful of ingredients, most of which don’t require very much manual labour, hence, why it comes together so quickly.
But, what really makes this dish pop, is the addition of bacon and cream. Anything with bacon and cream in it, is going to be great and probably requires me to run around the block a few times after eating it!
The cooking process is simple, whereby, the bacon is cooked until browned, the cream and stir through sauce are added, along with some parsley. This whole sauce process occurs in the one pan, which makes washing up a breeze. And, because you have cooked the bacon first, the pan is now pre-seasoned if you will, with bacon fat. Is your mouth-watering yet? A quick swirl of the sauce with a spoon, loosens the stuck and crispy bacon bits from the bottom of the pan, further infusing the sauce with that yummy bacon flavor.
The only thing left to do is add the cooked gnocchi to the pan and toss to coat, ensuring that those special ‘gnocchi’ grooves are doing their job and catching all that red, ok, perhaps more of a pale orange, fragrant and intense sauce.
Once I’m happy and the gnocchi has been bought back to a hot temperature, I spoon out and top with Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of Parsley, to complete the presentation.
Can be served with Garlic Bread and a side salad.
Creamy Bacon & Sundried Tomato Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 500 grams gnocchi can be fresh or store bought
- 6 rashers short cut bacon diced
- 190 gram jar Leggos Sundried Tomato & Roasted Garlic Stir Through Sauce
- 1 cup cream can use light
- 2 tablespoons parsley freshly chopped
Instructions
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Fill a large pot ¾ full of water. Add a pinch of salt and place over a high heat to bring to the boil.
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Whilst waiting for the water to boil, prepare the rest of your ingredients. That means, dice the bacon and measure out the sauce.
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Water boiling? Great! Add the gnocchi and cook until it floats. Using a slotted spoon, remove the floating gnocchi from the pot and place onto a tray or plate in a single layer.
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Place a large non-stick frypan over a medium – high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes or until slightly browned.
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Reduce the heat to medium and add the cream, stir through sauce and parsley. Stir to combine.
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Add the drained gnocchi to the frypan and toss to coat. Continue to cook for 2 minutes or until the gnocchi is hot, stirring occasionally. Once hot, remove from the heat.
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Make it look like the picture: Take a low-sided bowl and spoon the gnocchi into the middle of the plate, sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan and Parsley.
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