Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons & Parsley Brown Butter

On weeknights we typically want a quick, but not boxed dinner. You know, something that makes us feel like we ate well, but not spend an hour doing so. And lately, I have been trying to watch our calorie intake, and get us in the habit of having more balanced meals. My boss got me started on Eatingwell.com and I'm hooked! She and I are both making recipes from there quite frequently, and I haven't been disappointed yet.

I came across this Gnocchi recipe and immediately bookmarked it (and Pinned it, in case you were wondering), and saved it for an occasion where we needed a quick meal.This week was it. I made one change to it...omitting the tomatoes since we aren't huge tomato fans. As a result, I added a touch more butter since it seemed to get a bit dry as it was cooking. I'm guessing this was because the tomatoes would have added some natural liquid, but that's okay. Who's going to complain about a little extra butter?

Overall this dish was amazingly delicious. It was filling but not overly so, rich but still light. It came together really quickly, which was a huge plus. I definitely suggest making sure you have all the veggies prepped, including the parsley all chopped and ready to go because otherwise it will be a mad dash and you may over cook your sauce which can also cause it to dry out a bit.
So here's the recipe, I highly recommend it. It would totally work for entertaining as well.

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons & Parsley Brown Butter-From Eating Well (Link)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh or frozen gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium shallots, chopped
• 1 pound zucchini, (about 3 small), very thinly sliced lengthwise (I used the mandolin slicer for this)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook gnocchi until they float, 3 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the butter is beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add shallots and zucchini and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, nutmeg and pepper and continue cooking, stirring often, until the tomatoes are just starting to break down, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and parsley. Add the gnocchi and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

 And a picture of what ours looked like....it's not the best picture ever, but it'll give you the point.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!