Date Night In Gnocchi Dinner
I was supposed to be on an airplane right this second with Mike heading to New Orleans. I was SO EXCITED to eat my body weight in beignets for three days straight and then see my best friend from high school because I was supposed to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. But then coronavirus came along and mucked up everyone’s travel plans in the whole entire world. My friend ended up postponing her wedding until sometime in 2021 and now I hate this whole year. Just throw the whole thing in the trash.
If there’s one thing we’re all doing a lot of these days, it’s staying home. And it doesn’t look like that’s going to change any time soon. I think it’s important to try to switch things up a few times a week to try to bring some excitement back into our lives while we’re staring at the same exact four walls and same exact faces we live with all day every day.
A great way to bring some excitement into your home is to start having date nights in! I’m not quite sure why, but for me a date night in almost always involves some sort of Italian food. Is it the romance of the Italian culture? I’m not entirely sure. Something about eating a whole ton of carbs with the one you love is romantic indeed, in my opinion anyway.
I’m late to the party as usual, but this was actually my very first time trying Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi! I’ve been hearing about this product for years and years and I was finally able to get my hands on a few bags only recently. Word on the street is that the directions on the package for preparing this gnocchi are absolute garbage. To be fair I haven’t tried making them according to the package directions, but I don’t think I ever will thanks to the modern marvel that is my Cuisinart Air Fryer. By air frying the gnocchi, you are left with perfect pillowy delicacies that are slightly crisped on the outside, but soft and flavorful on the inside. Paired with your favorite sauce and packed with hidden vegetables, this dish makes a great contender for a secretly healthy date night in indeed.
What is the best way to slightly defrost a bag of cauliflower gnocchi, you may ask? Here’s how I chose to do it. I took out the largest microwaveable plate that I own and placed a paper towel on it. I put the cauliflower gnocchi on the plate, spacing them out as best I could. I microwaved them for 30 seconds, removed from the microwave, flipped them over, and microwaved them for 30 seconds more. I patted them dry as best I could and then moved them on to the tray of my air fryer to begin the recipe. There you have it folks!
Date Night In Gnocchi Dinner
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Place the cauliflower gnocchi on the tray of your air fryer and space them out as best as possible. Spray lightly with avodado oil spray and sprinkle with sea salt. Air fry at 400° for 10 minutes. When done, gnocchi will be starting to brown, and crispy on the outside but still soft on the inside.
- While the gnocchi fries, heat 1 tbsp avocado oil in a medium pot over medium heat. When hot, add the diced onion and garlic and saute 3-4 minutes until fragrant and starting to soften. Add the ground sausage and use a spatula to brown and break up into smaller pieces. When almost browned through, add the kale and stir to combine. Continue to saute until the kale has wilted and the sausage has cooked through.
- Add the marinara sauce to the pot and stir to combine. Let cook for 5 minutes more.
- To serve, spoon the gnocchi into a bowl. Top with the sauce. Serve hot and enjoy!
