Comfort food: easy cheesy spinach gnocchi
It was not a good week. The airwaves and my feeds were full of horror and rage at what had happened in the US – some useful links here from #BlackLivesMatter – we were still amidst pandemic lockdown and, on a more personal note, there was bad news close to home. On Monday morning we woke to word that we had lost a family member in New Zealand. That night, I heard that a colleague had died.
Both cancer. Both too young.
At least the strictures around funerals had somewhat relaxed in New Zealand and the family managed to gather together to celebrate a beloved lady’s life. We couldn’t make the middle of the night Zoom broadcast so sent flowers, the brightest tulips that we could find.
There wasn’t even that comfort in Ireland.
When the world’s gone mad, it’s good to be in the kitchen making the easiest, cheesiest spinach gnocchi. Comfort food in a crazy world.
Easy cheesy spinach gnocchi
Kids can’t avoid the spinach. Also good with nettles. Serves 4.
500g gnocchi
200g spinach, shredded
2 tablespoons basil pesto
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tin butter beans, drained & rinsed
100g cherry tomatoes
150g cheese, randomly chopped or grated – use whatever flavoursome cheese you have in the fridge: a combination like mature cheddar, mozzarella and Gubbeen is good here
Heat oven to 220C / 200 fanbake. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the gnocchi and cook until they start to float to the surface. This only takes a couple of minutes so keep a close eye on the pan and drain when they’re cooked.
Tip the cooked gnocchi back into the empty pan and add the spinach, pesto, garlic, butter beans and cherry tomatoes. Mix well. Scrape into a large ovenproof baking dish and scatter with the chopped cheese. Bake for 15-20 mins until all bubbling and brown on top.
