Sunday, June 10, 2012

Grilled Gnocchi with Roasted Pepper Sauce!


In last month's Food Network Magazine, there was a pull-out for 50 things you can grill. One of those things was gnocchi, and we really wanted to try that since we have grilled ravioli in the past and really enjoyed it. We also decided we would serve this when we host Father's Day next weekend, so we had to test it out first.

So off we went to the Italian supermarket that is a short walk from the house. We packed up the baby in the stroller and jaunted over to see what we could find. The fresh gnocchi in the refrigerated section was kind of expensive per box to try out, since we weren't sure how it would go. But we found packaged gnocchi in the pasta aisle and I figured I could cook it according to directions first and then let it dry, and then grill it. (That worked well by the way).

We decided to try spinach gnocchi. Next time we will probably buy the fresh stuff, especially since they have so many more flavors of gnocchi!

So this afternoon, when I went to google "grilled gnocchi" just to see if there was anything I should do to it before putting it in the grill basket, I came across this post here. The sauce looked really delicious and super easy to make, especially since I had everything in the house! Well, almost everything. The recipe called for a red pepper.. and I had yellow, so I figured I would try it anyway. It came out well, except for the color, which kind of looked like baby vomit or dog food. Bright red from a red pepper would be much more appetizing and I will definitely use that next time!

Anyway, this sauce was So easy to make, which is good since I have a 10 week old who is in a really bad mood today and don't have long spans of time to do much. So my husband sliced the pepper for me, and grilled it (which took him about 10, 15 minutes, max), and I did the rest in the blender in about 5 minutes.

Here is the recipe - I highly recommend it!  

Ingredients:

1 Cup cashews (I used roasted because that’s what I had on hand, but you’ll get a lighter flavor if you choose raw cashews)
1 roasted red pepper (medium size pepper)
1/4 Tsp paprika
1/4 Tsp garlic powder
Sprinkle of cayenne and black pepper
3/4 cup milk (any kind)

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a food processor or blender except the milk, and slowly add the milk for a creamier consistency.

 ** Note, I didn't use the whole 3/4 cup milk.. I added it slowly and when it got as loose as I wanted it, I stopped adding.

 Also, I added a touch more paprika and garlic powder for a tad more flavor.

 This sauce paired with the spinach gnocchi was DELICIOUS! Enjoy!