Spinach Gnocchi With Fontina Cheese Recipes

SPINACH GNOCCHI

Steps:

• For the gnocchi: In a large stock pot over high heat, boil the potatoes, salt, smashed garlic, and roughly chopped onions until the potatoes are fork tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and return to the pot to allow the water to cook off, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small saute pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the diced onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute more. Add the spinach and cook for 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook until the spinach is wilted, 5 minutes, stirring often. Place the mixture in a strainer set over a bowl to catch the liquids as it drains off, applying pressure gently a few times to accelerate liquid removal. Reserve 1/2 cup liquid.
• When the potatoes are dry and slightly cooled, roughly cut them and pass through a food mill or ricer. Set aside. (Guy's tip: after ricing the potatoes, spread them out on a baking sheet and allow them to dry out even more to remove moisture).
• In a food processor bowl fitted with the bottom blade, add the strained spinach, pulse to puree, and then add the egg and egg yolk, flour, nutmeg, and Parmesan. Pulse until well mixed. Place into a large bowl and gently fold in the riced potatoes, gently stirring until just combined. You will have very soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and roll into a 1 1/2-inch thick snake. Dust the dough lightly with flour and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Roll each piece gently with your thumb, leaving a small indentation on 1 side of the gnocchi. Place the finished gnocchi on a lightly floured, parchment paper-lined baking sheet. (Guy's tip: if you have time, let the gnocchi rest in the refrigerator or freezer until chilled prior to cooking. It will help the gnocchi hold its shape better).
• Fill a large stock pot 3/4 full with water, place over high heat, add 1 tablespoon kosher salt, and bring to a rapid boil.
• Meanwhile, for the sauce: Wipe clean the same pan that the spinach was cooked in and place over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons butter and melt. Add the garlic and chile flakes and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Deglaze with the wine, reduce for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the stock, reserved spinach liquid, half-and-half, and cheese and reduce an additional 3 minutes. Add the pepper, tomatoes, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
• When the sauce is ready, add the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook for 3 1/2 minutes. Remove, drain, and let rest for 5 minutes. Add to the sauce and garnish with Parmesan and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Freeze any leftover gnocchi for a later meal.

GNOCCHI IN FONTINA SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, and set aside.
• Once the gnocchi goes into the pot, start the sauce, as you want the gnocchi to be done first. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, and cook for a few minutes, until tender. Stir in the cream, and heat to almost a boil. Gradually mix in the fontina and parmesan cheeses, being careful not to boil. Stir until smooth, then remove from the heat immediately, or the sauce may clump.
• Place gnocchi into serving dishes, and spoon the sauce over them. Garnish with chopped fresh basil.

FONTINA PANINI WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat closed contact grill or panini maker for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, spread 1 side of each bread slice with honey mustard; sprinkle onions over 4 slices of bread. Layer with spinach, roasted peppers, cheese and remaining bread slices.
• Place sandwiches on grill. Close grill; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until bread is toasted and cheese is melted. Cut each sandwich in half to serve.

BAKED GNOCCHI WITH SAGE AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Fill a large saucepan with water. Add potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Continue to boil until potatoes are very soft, about 15 minutes. Drain and run through a food mill or a ricer for a nice, smooth consistency. Place potatoes in a bowl and refrigerate until they are cool, 15 to 20 minutes; this will help keep them fluffy.
• Dust 2 sheet pans with flour and set aside.
• Mix cooled potatoes and 1 1/2 cups flour together on a clean work surface. Knead until dough is soft and smooth, 4 to 5 minutes, adding only enough flour so dough comes together and is not tacky.
• Cut dough into 4 equal parts. Roll 1/4 of the dough into a 3/4-inch log. Cut the log into 3/4-inch pieces. Roll the pieces over a gnocchi board or the back of a fork to create ridges and place onto a floured sheet pan in a single layer. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Let rolled gnocchi dry for 1 hour before cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook gnocchi in the boiling water until they float to the top, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Melt butter for cheese sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and continue to whisk until it thickens, about 3 minutes. Add Fontina cheese and Parmesan cheese; stir using a spoon until melted. Stir in sage and nutmeg. Stir in cooked gnocchi and transfer to a casserole or baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.

THREE CHEESE BAKED GNOCCHI WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the olive oil over medium low heat. Add the onion and garlic; sauté until translucent and fragrant. Add passata and water or broth; bring to a low simmer. Add torn basil, mascarpone, and salt. YUM.
• Add gnocchi and spinach. Stir to coat evenly with sauce. Top with mozzarella slices and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until gooey and light golden brown on top. Serve with more basil. THE END. That's it. You're in heaven.

SPINACH-AND-FONTINA STRATA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Fill pan with as much spinach as will fit; cook, stirring, adding remainder a handful at a time as space allows. When all the spinach is wilted, stir in pepper and nutmeg. Drain spinach in a sieve. When cool enough to handle, squeeze excess moisture from spinach by hand.
• Butter a 3-quart baking dish. Place a third of the bread in a single layer in dish. Top with half the spinach mixture and a third of the cheeses. Repeat layering with a third of the bread, remaining spinach mixture, and a third of the cheeses, then top with remaining bread.
• Whisk together 6 eggs, 2 cups milk, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and carefully pour over bread. Cover with parchment, and gently press down with hands until egg mixture soaks through top of bread. Cover parchment with foil, and refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, remove strata from refrigerator, uncover, and let stand 30 minutes. Whisk together remaining 2 eggs and 2/3 cup milk, and pour over strata, gently pressing between layers of bread with a spoon or spatula to ensure that egg mixture seeps to bottom. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake until puffed and golden brown in places, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

BAKED SPINACH WITH FONTINA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8 x 8 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Beat eggs in large bowl to blend. Mix in spinach, then cheese and tomatoes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil reserved from tomatoes in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until onions begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add to spinach mixture. Mix in salt and pepper. Transfer to prepared dish. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs.
• Bake spinach mixture until set in center, about 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

NANA'S SPINACH GNOCCHI

Steps:

• In a large pot, add 3 Tablespoons salt to 5 quarts of water, bring to a boil.
• Place spinach, potatoes, egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, salt and four in a large bowl, use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix ingredients together to form a dough.
• On a floured board, roll dough into long, finger-thin ropes.
• Cut ropes into pieces about 1-2 inches long.
• Flatten each piece gently with thumb and bring long sides together to form a hollow tube or shell shape.
• After shaping all the dough, place about 20 gnocchi into a large pot of boiling, salted water.
• When they rise to the surface, remove them from the pot with a strainer.
• Place in a heated bowl.
• Keep water at a hard, rolling boil and continue cooking the gnocchi (20 at a time) until all are cooked.
• Toss with butter and grated Parmesan cheese or your favorite sauce and serve.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA CHEESE GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Drain the ricotta cheese in a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl until it is very dry. Transfer the cheese to a large bowl and set it aside.
• Cook the spinach in batches in a covered large soup pot with no additional water until the spinach has wilted. Drain it in a colander, and when cool enough to handle, squeeze the spinach as dry as possible with your hands to remove excess water. You should have about 2 cups of squeezed spinach.
• Chop the spinach coarsely, then purée it in a blender or food processor until it is very smooth. Transfer the spinach to the bowl with the cheese and stir in 1/3 cup of the grated cheese, eggs, mint, salt, nutmeg and pepper, and mix well. Begin adding the flour a little at a time until a soft dough is obtained and is not sticking to your hands.
• It is easier to form the gnocchi if the dough is refrigerated for several hours or overnight.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Using two soupspoons, shape heaping tablespoons of the dough into an oval or egg shape then gently slide the dough off the spoon onto the floured surface.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. With a spoon, scoop up about 8 to 10 gnocchi at a time and add them to the water. Boil them until they float.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large sauté pan and stir in the sage leaves. Cover the pan and keep the sauce warm.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove and transfer the gnocchi to the sauce tossing them gently until well coated with the sauce.
• Divide between 8 individual plates and sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup of cheese. Serve hot.

SPINACH GNOCCHI WITH FONTINA CHEESE

Steps:

• Steam potatoes until very tender, about 35 minutes. Cool potatoes slightly and peel. Mash potatoes in large bowl until smooth. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, bring 2 inches of salted water to boil in large pot. Add spinach leaves to pot and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Drain spinach, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from spinach. Puree spinach in processor, adding reserved cooking liquid 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary to help puree and scraping down sides of processor bowl occasionally.
• Transfer spinach mixture to bowl with potatoes. Mix in egg, ground nutmeg and enough flour until soft and slightly sticky dough forms. Season dough to taste with salt.
• Dust baking sheet with flour. Working in batches and using floured hands, roll 1/4 cup dough on lightly floured work surface to form 12-inch rope. Cut rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll each piece between palms to form oval ball. Lightly flour the wires of a whisk. Using thumb, gently roll each ball down length of wires, making ribbed impressions in gnocchi. Transfer gnocchi to prepared baking sheet. Repeat rolling, cutting and shaping of remaining dough.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 13x9-inch baking dish. Working in batches, add gnocchi to large pot of boiling salted water and cook until gnocchi rise to surface of water, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove gnocchi from water, draining off excess, and transfer to prepared baking dish. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over gnocchi; toss thoroughly to coat. Top with Fontina cheese slices. (Gnocchi can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Bake until gnocchi are heated through and cheese bubbles, about 10 minutes.