Gnocchi with Browned Butter and Sage

By Misa Misono

Gnocchi with browned butter and sage is by no means a reinvention of the wheel—it is a classic Italian fall dish. But it is misunderstood, and many home cooks don’t even consider making it. I know I always believed there was some mysterious fancy preparation involved, and until recently, never tried preparing one of my favorite fall dishes.

Gnocchi is an Italian form of pasta made from potatoes instead of semolina flour. Each piece is about inch long and oval in shape. Gnocchi is delicious when served with a minimal number of ingredients that let its flavor and texture shine.

The hardest part of this recipe is browning the butter, which means it’s not very hard at all! I’ve put extra butter in this recipe to ensure that the butter doesn’t burn; as much or as little of the resulting sauce can be served with the gnocchi. Fragrant sage and spicy nutmeg add kick to this simple dish, and a touch of parmesan provides an extra layer of flavor. Don’t let the fancy name fool you, it’s one of the easiest dishes to make, and of course, totally delicious!

Buon appetito!


Shopping notes:
Look for gnocchi in the pasta section of the store. It’s usually vacuum sealed. Fresh sage can be found in a small plastic container in the fresh produce section of the grocery store. I prefer cooking with unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt, but regular salted butter will work fine.

Cooking tools:
Medium to large saucepan and medium sauté pan or skillet, preferably stainless steel. Tip: If you only have a dark-bottomed pan, use a white plastic spoon to test color of butter.

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter, preferably unsalted
6 fresh sage leaves, washed, dried
½ package of gnocchi
½ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon shredded or grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Fill medium-large saucepan filled 2/3 way with water over medium high heat. Salt water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. While you wait for the pot to boil, place butter into sauté pan/skillet and bring to medium heat. After butter melts, add sage leaves and stir. Butter should take several minutes to brown—if you notice it turning darker very quickly, the pan is too hot. Lift pan off the burner for a few moments while you turn the heat down. Butter should start to get brown specks and the foaming will subside. Continue until it is the color of maple syrup. If you finish the sauce before the gnocchi are done, take pan off heat.

Add gnocchi to the boiling water. When gnocchi float to the top, let cook 1 minute longer and then scoop out with slotted spoon and place into your butter sauce. Turn heat back on and turn gnocchi gently in sauce, until warmed through. Stir in nutmeg.

Sprinkle parmesan over gnocchi, scoop into a bowl, and serve. Serves 1-2, depending on your appetite!