Recipe: Spring Vegetable Gnocchi

Spring is like a cheat code for easy dinners, especially if you’re able to convince your brain that your body enjoys the repetitive work of trimming fresh green vegetables.

Because once that trimming work is done, most spring vegetable dishes fare best with minimal cooking. In this case, I very briefly blanch the vegetables in sequence in a pot of boiling salted water until they’re bright green (just a minute or so), then drop them into a bowl of ice water to halt their cooking and set their color. Once green vegetables are blanched, you can store them in the fridge for up to 3-4 days before finishing the dish (or just snacking).

The rest of the dish is even easier: cook the gnocchi, then toss it in a pan with the vegetables, some fresh butter, and a ladle of the pasta cooking water to emulsify in to a creamy sauce. A handful of minced herbs and some cheese finish it.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Note: I am not going to offer amounts for the vegetables in the ingredients list, as it all depends on how much you like vegetables and what’s available. I use a total of about 1/4 pound (125g) of vegetables per serving, and that works out OK more or less.

Kosher salt

1 pound (450g) spring vegetables, such as:

- Asparagus, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

- English peas, shucked from the pod

- Fava beans, shucked and peeled

- Fiddleheads, trimmed

1 pound (450g) of gnocchi for other short pasta

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

The juice and zest of 1 lemon

A big handful of freshly minced herbs, such as parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil

Small handful crumbled feta cheese

1. Bring two pots of salted water to a boil. Add a few cups of ice to a large bowl and cover them with cold water. Working with one pot and one type of vegetable at a time, transfer them to the boiling water and cook until just barely tender and bright green, just a minute or so. Transfer to the ice bath to chill and repeat until all the vegetables are cooked. Drain and dry them. Discard the first pot of boiling water and return it to the stovetop, now empty.

2. Put the blanched vegetables and butter in the now-empty blanching pot. Add the gnocchi to the second pot and cook until they float, about 2 minutes. Drain the gnocchi, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Transfer to the pot with the vegetables and butter. Add half the herbs, the lemon juice, and the lemon zest. Add a half a cup of cooking water and set the heat to high. Cook, tossing and stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and the sauce is reduced to a creamy consistency. Adjust the texture with more pasta if necessary.

3. Season to taste with salt, black pepper, and lemon juice. Transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining herbs and the cheese. Serve immediately.