Creamy Sausage and Gnocchi

I tried a new gnocchi dish tonight for dinner with my dumpling recipe.  Wasn’t sure how it would taste with smoked sausage, but we both really liked it.  I just love gnocchi in creamy sauces!  These soft pillows of yummy texture came out perfect once again.  It’s simple to put together, but you do have to watch two pots at the same time, which is always a juggling act.  I’ve made my dumplings recipe so many times now, I could make them blindfolded, so I managed this just fine.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins provided those still on Induction omit the white wine.  I found a bottle or Reisling in the fridge so that is what I used tonight in this creamy sauce.  Mmmm, with a nice green Italian salad, this was marvelous!.

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INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe Peggy’s Original Dumplings dough

10 oz. smoked sausage, sliced

3 oz. yellow onion, sliced

1 c. parsley, chopped

1 small can (about 1/2 c.) sliced mushrooms, with juice

2 T. tomato paste

1 tsp. my Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

¼ c. white wine  (omit if still on Induction)

1 c. heavy cream

VARIATIONS:  Instead of smoked sausage, use sliced Italian sausage, little balls of browned breakfast sausage, or grilled/baked chicken chunks would also be delicious in this sauce.

DIRECTIONS:  It is key to have all ingredients prepared and right by the stove ready.  As I said above, you have to watch two pots at the same time for this recipe.  🙂  Prepare the Dumplings recipe wet and dry ingredients in separate containers as specified in that recipe.  Place a piece of plastic wrap or silicone sheet by them.   Stir the dry into the wet ingredients with a fork and rubber spatula.  When the dough has formed a ball and has thickened up nicely, make 20-24 small balls of dough about the size of a marble in the palms of your hands (I got 22 but mine could have been a tad smaller 😉 ), roll and set down on silicone/plastic sheet.  Press them slightly flat.  Let them just rest until water comes to a boil.  Place a 4 qt. saucepan of water on to boil.

While it is coming to a boil, in a skillet lightly brown the sausage and onion over medium high heat.  Add the wine, parsley and mushrooms with juice.  Add pepper and Montreal Steak mix.  Simmer as you wait for that water pot to come to a boil.  Lower heat to lowest setting possible and add cream.  It will simmer and reduce, thickening it a bit.  Add a light dusting of your favorite thickener if you want your thicker.  I did not.

Water should be boiling by now.  Carefully (lest it splatter on your arms) drop the flattened gnocchi into the water.  That will usually cool the water down to a simmer, but also lower heat so it is definitely at a very gentle simmer.  Cover tightly and set a timer for exactly 10 minutes. DO NOT LIFT THE LID for this 10 minutes or the gnocchi will get what I call “packy” or dense/hard.  When the timer goes off, remove lid and with a slotted spoon, gently lift and drain them off (I tap spoon on paper toweling) and then add to your sauce skillet.  Stir gently once or twice and serve at once.  Alternately, you can dip the gnocchi into a large, deep serving platter and spoon the sauce over them if you prefer.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 5 servings (about 1c. each), each contains:

377 cals. , 33g fat, 9.16g carbs, 4.1g fiber, 5.1g NET CARBS, 12.3g protein, 475 mg sodium