sweet potato gnocchi with creamy kale pesto, mushrooms, and shallots

5 whole days into a new year, and i’m just now getting around to putting a new recipe up. are we surprised? can we forgive ourselves? fresh slates abundant, so yes. yes we can.

hi hello, and here’s my small apology for sort-of tardiness. also, happiest new year! how did you ring it in? do you make goals, hopes, wishes, dreams? i have some that i’ll share at some point; currently a Quarantine Queen over here and getting really into doing crosswords and staring out the window, so crushing goals feels like a later problem at the moment.

2021 was at times a really solid, steady state of recipes, making, tasting, and the careful arranging of herbs, and at other times completely desolate, void of creativity or interest in contributing more noise to an already raucous internet. i’m proud of a lot of the work i pushed into this little space, largely because this is in no way my ‘real job’ and has always been a hobby first, passion project second, and self-imposed duty third. my hope for 2022 is that i find more consistency here, and continue to cook things for me and for you that are nourishing, delicious, not intimidating, and make you feel like home cooking is something you can absolutely do. I don’t expect everyone to find *immense* joy in every single dinner they make, but i do hope that it feels fun, and easy(ish), and that you can find things you’ll love here.

if you’re looking for some places to get started, here are my favorite honey street recipes from last year:

- honey garlic chicken with herby green orzo and zucchini
- mexican street corn salad
- 15 minute sweet and spicy salmon bowls
- salted chocolate chip tahini cookie dough protein bites
- honey sriracha meatballs with sheet pan broccoli and peppers
- peach raspberry crumble bars
- brussel sprouts with bacon, goat cheese, and honey cider vinaigrette
- paleo lemon snack cake
- bruschetta toast with peaches, prosciutto, and burrata
- sheet pan turmeric spiced chicken, cauliflower, peppers, and honey with whipped lemon honey goat cheese
- cinnamon toast crunch waffles

and yaaaanking our focus back over here, kicking off a fresh, shiny new year with a cozy vegetarian dish, tucked with goodies that will make you feel like all the comfort food boxes are being neatly checked. we’re tossing pillowy sweet potato gnocchi with buttery shallots and garlic, some mushrooms for meatiness, a bright kale pesto, and parmesan cheese because cheese in a creamy sauce is a must.

the whole thing takes about 15 minutes to come together, and the longest bit is truly waiting for water to boil. everything else is easy (just how we like it, thankyouverymuch!!) and before you can even begin to stress out about dinner, you’ll have a bowl of beautiful, (re: see the COLOR of this dish!) creamy, heart gnocchi in your lap before you know it.

let this be a year of fewer struggles, dinnerwise. sending you virtual pinky swears from here, friends.

a few things before we get started:

- this dish comes together so quickly! like, insanely quickly. gnocchi is generally pre-cooked, so it just needs to take a quick bath in boiling water to puff up nicely.
- we’re using coconut milk for our creamy element here; heavy cream would work beautifully but a bit on the heavier side. use whatever is easier for you.
- this dish could technically be vegan, but i’ve truly not found a great plant-based substitute for parmesan, so that’s why we’re flexing coconut milk + cheese. the parmesan adds a lovely nutty salty tangy element that helps balance out the robustness from the mushrooms and the bitterness of the kale.
- this dish works really well as a side, or maybe a starter to something like a pork tenderloin? totally up to you and however fancy your jam is, but we ate the entire thing as our meal and had a little spinach salad on the side. it was peak cozy hearty creamy vibes, and we loved it.
- if you have leftovers or are prepping this ahead of time, I recommend adding some water to it when reheating. the coconut milk gets pretty solid when kept in the fridge.

sweet potato gnocchi with creamy kale pesto, mushrooms, and shallots
makes 2 servings as a meal, 4 servings as a side
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes

for the gnocchi:

1 package of sweet potato gnocchi (or whatever kind of gnocchi you like)
2 shallots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1c baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
2c lacinato or dinosaur kale, shredded
1/2c full-fat, canned coconut milk
1/4c parmesan cheese, optional v recommended
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp butter or ghee
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp black pepper

for the pesto:
1c lacinato or dinosaur kale
1/2c fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lemon
1/4c olive oil
pinch of salt and black pepper

basil and more parmesan cheese, for topping

pulse all the ingredients for the pesto in a food processor until smooth. it should be on the thinner side (as in, the pesto should drip off a spoon rather than stick like a paste.)

bring a pot of water to a boil, and salt your pasta water.
while the water comes to a boil, heat the oil and butter for the gnocchi in a skillet over medium heat. add the shallot, garlic, salt, and pepper. saute for 2-3 minutes, then add the mushrooms. saute for another 2-3 minutes, then add the kale. the kale should cook down in about a minute. once the kale softens, add the coconut milk and lower the heat to medium low, letting it reduce a bit.

stir the pesto into the skillet, and lower the heat to low. you want the sauce to remain pretty loose; think of it as almost a creamy pesto broth once the gnocchi is added.

once the water is boiling, cook the gnocchi (this should only take a few minutes.) reserve 1/2c of the pasta water, and drain the gnocchi. toss the gnocchi and reserved pasta water into the skillet, and stir to coat with the creamy pesto. add the parmesan cheese.

serve immediately, and top with extra basil leaves and parmesan, if you’d like (you’d probably like.)