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Lemon thyme butter gnocchi with kale chips

Lemon thyme butter gnocchi with kale chips

Delicious buttery, lemon and thyme infused gnocchi - this is what life is all about. Give this recipe a go and you'll find the effort of making your own gnocchi is totally worth it!
5 from 7 votes
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Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 387kcal

Equipment

  • optional: potato ricer

Ingredients

Gnocchi ingredients

  • 500 g /1.1lbs potatoes about 2 large, peeled and cut in similar sizes
  • 1 egg lightly whisked
  • 100 g /3.5oz flour
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • white pepper or black pepper

Lemon thyme butter sauce (use in 2 - 3 batches)

  • 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 cup peas if frozen, thaw before cooking
  • 2 sprigs fresh lemon thyme leaves only
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Kale chips

  • 3 cups kale leaves washed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Serve with

  • freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Making gnocchi

  • Peel, wash and cut potatoes into similar sizes. Boil potatoes until soft, about 30-35 minutes. (see note 1)
  • Drain and allow potatoes to steam on a kitchen bench for 3 minutes. (see note 2)
  • Mash potatoes with a potato masher (or a potato ricer if you have one) on kitchen bench until as smooth as possible.
  • Mix in remaining gnocchi ingredients with a fork or a dough scraper. Once a rough dough is formed, knead lightly until smooth. About 2 minutes. Do not overwork the dough. (see note 3)
  • Form dough into a couple of long thin sausages. About 2-3 cm thick. Ensure the kitchen bench is heavily floured.
  • Cut dough sausages into little pillows, about 1.5cm wide. Shape gnocchi with a fork/gnocchi board or poke a deep dent with a finger.

Cooking gnocchi (cook in 2 - 3 batches, see note 4)

  • Cook gnocchi in boiling water. It's done when it floats to the top, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Drain and allow the gnocchi to steam in colander for about 1 minute. (see note 2)
  • In a hot, non-stick pan, saute gnocchi with butter and lemon thyme leaves. Once golden on both sides, add peas, lemon zest and season with salt and white pepper to taste.
  • Serve with kale chips and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Kale chips

  • Whilst potatoes are boiling, toss all kale chips ingredients in a baking tray and bake at 200°C/390°F (fan-forced) for about 10 minutes or until crispy.

Notes

Note 1. Cook potatoes till really soft make sure the potatoes are cooked to the point where there is no resistance when pierced with a sharp knife. This will ensure they can be easily mashed when using a potato masher. If potatoes are not soft enough they will not mash as well and you'll end up with chunky mash. 
Note 2. Allowing potatoes and cooked gnocchi to steam helps drawing out as much moisture as possible. This will ensure a) gnocchi dough is not watery/thus avoid using more flour than desired (more flour in gnocchi means less fluffy and dense) and b) cooked gnocchi can be sauteed to golden. 
Note 3. Do not overwork the dough kneading the dough too much will result in gluten from the flour forming. Gluten means gnocchi toughens and gets rubbery and we dont want that!
Note 4. Boil and saute gnocchi in batches depending on the size of your pan, you want to saute gnocchi in batches of 2 - 3. Aim to have each gnocchi touching the frying pan when sauteing to achieve the lovely golden colour. Also, depending on the size of your boiling pot, don't overcrowd the pot when boiling gnocchi. Overcrowding the pot increases the risk of gnocchi turning into mush! 
Tried this recipe?Mention @Casuallypeckish or tag #casuallypeckish!

Nutrition

Calories: 387kcal | Carbohydrates: 49.9g | Protein: 9.8g | Fat: 17.3g | Saturated Fat: 8.6g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Potassium: 846mg | Fiber: 6.7g | Sugar: 3.5g | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 3mg