What makes this creamy without heavy cream?

The combination of the starchy pasta water, butter, olive oil, and parmesan cheese create a creamy texture that isn't too heavy or thick.

What if my sauce is really watery? How can I make it thicker?

Your sauce will start off watery. It should reduce and thicken as you cook in on medium high heat and as the sauce begins to bubble. Let the sauce bubble for at least 2-3 minutes and if the sauce is still not thickening, you may need to add another tablespoon of oil.

Creamy Mushroom Gnocchi - easy gourmet by jackie

Description

Soft and pillowy gnocchi are tossed together with a hearty mushroom, broccolini, and parmesan sauce for a delicious, vegetarian weeknight dinner.

Ingredients

Units Scale

8 ounces of brown button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bunch broccolini
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Red pepper flake
16 ounce package of gnocchi
Kosher salt
Black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup pasta water
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese + more for garnish

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Instructions

Bring a medium pot of water up to a boil.
Prep all the vegetables and aromatics. Cut the broccolini into 2” pieces (the stems can be cut a bit smaller, like ½”), thinly slice the mushrooms and shallots, and mince the garlic.
Heat a medium sized pan on medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and the thinly sliced mushrooms. Cook until brown, about 4-5 minutes, then add the broccolini, shallots, minced garlic, kosher salt, red pepper flake, and black pepper. Add another tablespoon of olive oil if if the pan is looking a bit dry. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
After the broccolini is in, add the gnocchi to the boiling and salted water, and cook according to package directions.
Push the mushroom broccolini mixture to the side and add the butter and another tablespoon of olive oil. Mix with the broccolini and mushrooms, then add in the pasta water, cooked gnocchi, and grated parmesan cheese. Give everything a mix and cook until the pasta water begins to thicken and form a creamy sauce. You should begin to see lots of bubbles. If not, increase the heat.
Give the gnocchi a taste, adjust seasoning as desire, then plate. Top with some more parmesan, and serve.

Equipment

great jones baking sheet

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Global Vegetable Knife

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Notes

Tip 1 – Give your pasta water a taste before you add it to the mushroom and broccolini mixture. Since I don’t typically measure the amount of salt I use, this can vary and make your pasta sauce too salty if you went a little too heavy handed with the salt. If the pasta water is a bit too salty, add a few tablespoons. Then once you add the pasta water, make sure you bring this to a boil so the liquid can emulsify and reduce down into the right texture.

Tip 2 – Brown the mushrooms first on medium high heat before adding the shallots, garlic, and broccolini. Since the mushrooms take longer to cook than the other ingredients, you don’t want to burn the garlic or overcook the broccolini.

Tip 3 – Add more olive oil to the pan after cooking the mushrooms if your pan looks a bit dry. Mushrooms love oil, and the fats here are what help make a creamy sauce.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Category: Quick and easy
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American