Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Italian Sausage

This Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Italian Sausage is a real family favourite.  It’s easy to put together, since it uses premade gnocchi from the pantry, and it’s so, so good.

I discovered gnocchi one day after a discussion at a play date.  A friend of mine who comes from an Italian background was talking about what she was having for dinner.  I had only tried gnocchi once or twice before at a restaurant.  I was certainly intimidated by the idea of trying to make my own little potato pasta pillows, which is what they are.  I was surprised to hear that she bought hers in the dry pasta section of the grocery store.  And I thought that if she liked it, I should give it a try too.

She mentioned that she sometimes made gnocchi with a little wine, garlic, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, and sometimes a bit of cream.  I thought that sounded delicious, so that very night I picked up the ingredients, added Italian sausage, and we’ve been enjoying it ever since!

Here’s my version of the recipe, easy enough for a weeknight family dinner, but delicious enough for company.  It’s great with a nice green salad, crusty garlic bread, and a bottle of wine.

Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Italian Sausage

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Ingredients

• 16 oz. packages of potato gnocchi
• 1 lbs Italian sausage
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 10 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• parmesan cheese to taste

Instructions

1. Begin by removing the sausage from the casing and frying it in a large skillet over a medium high heat until it is cooked through and crumbled. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. In the same pan, add the olive oil and sauté the onions, mushrooms, and garlic until they are cooked about 5 min.
3. Add the cooked sausage back to the pan, and add the wine. Scrap up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, bring the wine to a boil and let reduce slightly.
4. Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the gnocchi according to the package directions.
5. Add the cream and parmesan cheese to the sausage and mushroom mixture, and then add in the hot drained gnocchi. Stir to combine, and enjoy.

This is a one skillet dinner too, so easy clean up.  Just another reason to love it.

If you happen to have any leftovers, it sure is a lunch to look forward to the next day.

With Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Italian Sausage, life really is a party!