i love to cook. I really do. I'm trying to brighten up my recipe collection with some new dishes to try. Especially those that will be good to get through the cold dark winter in Chicago. If anyone wants to share their favorite recipes I would love it! I will even share one of my favorites.
Gnocchi Mac and Cheese
1 pound purchased or homemade gnocchi
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/3 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Basil leaves for garnish, optional (I chopped fresh basil and added it in to my cheese sauce)
Preheat oven to 375. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions. Drain and place gnocchi in a single-layer in a 1-1/2 quart shallow baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and Dijon. Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
Combine Gruyere and fontina, then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful. Once all cheese is melted, season sauce with salt and pepper.
Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano over top. Bake gnocchi until they puff and the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving.
What I love most about this recipe is how you can easily change it to what you have on hand. Gruyere is expensive so I used sharp cheddar or you can use swiss. I couldn't find Fontina and the grocery store but they did have fontinella on sale. Which is just a creamier mozzarella based fontina. I'm italian so I ALWAYS have gnocchi in the freezer and parmigiano-reggiano in the frdige. It's a pricier meal to make because of all the cheese, but it's so worth it. for anymore than 3 people I would recommend doubling the recipe.
