Crisp gnocchi with Brussels sprouts and brown butter

For a fantastic meal that can be ready in 20 minutes, toss together seared gnocchi and sauteed Brussels sprouts with lemon zest, red-pepper flakes and brown butter. The key to this recipe is how you cook the store-bought gnocchi: no need to boil. Just sear them until they are crisp and golden on the outside, and their insides will stay chewy. The resulting texture is reminiscent of fried dough. Shelf-stable and refrigerated gnocchi will both work here, but the shelf-stable ones do crisp up a bit better.

Ingredients

450g Brussels sprouts (or cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower or even cabbage)

1 lemon

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher/cooking salt and black pepper

½ tsp red-pepper flakes

1 package (approx. 500g) shelf-stable or refrigerated potato gnocchi

6 tbsp unsalted butter, sliced into 6 pieces

½ tsp honey

Freshly grated parmesan, for serving

Preparation

Step 1 Trim and halve the Brussels sprouts. Using a vegetable peeler, peel thick strips of lemon zest, then coarsely chop. (You should have about 2 teaspoons chopped zest.)

Step 2 In a large (preferably 30.5cm) frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high. Add the Brussels sprouts, season with ½ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper, then arrange the Brussels sprouts in an even layer, cut side down. Scatter the lemon zest over the top and cook, undisturbed, until the Brussels sprouts are well browned underneath, 3-5 minutes. Add the red-pepper flakes, stir and cook until the Brussels sprouts are crisp-tender, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.

Step 3 In the same pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high. Break up any gnocchi that are stuck together, add them to the pan and cook, covered and undisturbed, until golden brown on one side, 2-4 minutes. Add the butter and honey, season with salt and a generous amount of black pepper, and cook, stirring, until the butter is golden, nutty smelling and foaming, 1-2 minutes. Stir in the Brussels sprouts until warmed through. Serve with grated parmesan.

Serves 4

Total time: 20 minutes

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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