The delicata squash plant in my back yard actually produced a squash that I could eat! Actually, it produced one that Kayla grabbed and ran around with (like a ball) and ate part of, before it ever matured. Eating it apparently taught her a lesson, though, so she left the three squash that grew alone so that they could mature and became delicious winter squash.
When I saw the recipe for Chickpea, Spinach, and Squash Gnocchi, it seemed like the perfect reason to cook one of those squash! The one I used yielded a little more than the 2 cups the recipe called for, but I used it all anyway. I found some gnocchi in the grocery store near the pasta, but they were a little hidden and tricky for me to find. I substituted onion for the shallots, and used ground sage.
First you cook and drain your gnocchi. Then you saute them in a little olive oil until they start to brown. You remove them from the pan, and then you saute the onion, squash, and garlic. After a few minutes, you add broth (I used water with vegetable and chicken bouillon cubes), currants, sage, and pepper. Finally, you add spinach, chickpeas, and the gnocchi. I stirred in a little balsamic vinegar after I turned off the heat.
I enjoyed this. I wasn’t sure about the smells (sage, and balsamic vinegar) coming from the stove, but it was pretty good when I ate it. This dish had a good flavor overall. The combination of vinegar and spinach reminded me a little of vinegary canned spinach, but that wasn’t a huge problem at the time. This persisted in the leftovers, though, so you may want to omit either the vinegar or the spinach if this is something you wouldn’t like. Alex wished there were more currants, but I thought it was the right amount since I don’t like them very much. This is one of the first times I’ve actually enjoyed gnocchi. Often gnocchi I’ve had has been incredibly soft, where the texture is almost falling apart. That’s too close to mashed potatoes [which I don’t like] for me. Perhaps it was because it was packaged gnocchi rather than freshly prepared, or maybe because I browned it, but this gnocchi was chewier, which I liked better. I liked this dish, and I might make it again sometime.
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