Gnocchi al Turbo

Since it's been weeks since I've posted a recipe on this blog, I'm going on a weeklong recipe bender. Buckle your seatbelts, it's going to be a tasty ride!

Jenny and I fell in love with gnocchi in Sienna, Italy two years ago. For the uninitiated, gnocchi is a potato pasta that's often matched with some kind of flavorful sauce. It's soft, smooth and sublimely good.

Unfortunately, it's a bear to make. You have to boil potatoes, make the potato dough, and then laboriously make each morsel. It's this level of trouble that has kept us from rekindling our love for this delicacy. That is until we found premade gnocchi at our local gourmet supermarket. We compared several varieties before selecting one made by Cucina Viva. The best part is that it's really light, only 3 pts. (180 cal, no fat, 2g fiber) per serving (1/3 package). The package is enough for a hearty dinner for 2 and requires no refrigeration.

This gnocchi is vacuum packed and cooks as fast as fresh pasta. We poured the package into salted boiling water and all the dumplings floated to the top in just a few minutes. We topped it with our staple impromptu tomato sauce and some shredded Parmesan cheese.

All told (with coupons) the whole meal cost us $3.50, was only 6 points for each plate, and was done in 15 min. Oh, and it was delicious!

Fast Tomato Sauce

1 can Diced Tomatoes, undrained
1 med Onion, diced
1 clove Garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Basil
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Spray a non-stick skillet with a bit of olive oil from a spritzer. Sautee the onions and garlic with salt and pepper. When onions are translucent, pour in the tomatoes. Simmer until most of the tomato juice has evaporated off. Spoon over pasta.

Update 6/20/05 - The picture for this post was entered in "Does My Blog Look Good in This? #6", an online food photography contest! Also, I've since tried Cucina Viva's gnocchi with spinach. In my opinion, it tasted like fish food and Jenny and I dumped it out.