Rich and delicious, this super-quick vegetarian main course combines gnocchi and cavolo nero in an unctuous creamy sauce that the whole family will love.
We occasionally get cavolo nero – aka Tuscan kale – in our organic vegetable box and I’m tasked with coming up with ideas to use it. More often than not it ends up steamed or sautéed and served as a side vegetable. The bunch that was languishing in the fridge was looking like a likely candidate for such side treatment.
But I recently came across a recipe for Pasta with Cavolo Nero. It looked delicious, although since I’m a) Jewish and b) don’t eat meat, the bacon had to go. And we had gnocchi instead of pasta. So in the end, I used that recipe as inspiration and came up with what you see here.
Creamy, gooey and quick!
This cavolo nero gnocchi was wonderfully creamy and gooey and delicious. It feels at once massively sinful, being mostly double cream and parmesan, and also highly virtuous, because nothing with kale in it could possibly be bad for you, right?
Kale gnocchi
My daughter Kipper, who had been stropping about me giving her the wrong kind of cutlery, calmed down and cleared her plate. She’s never been a big fan of cavolo nero before, or actually any kind of kale to be honest. But I think the gooey creamy sauce and fluffy gnocchi won her over.
Super fast, filling and tasty!
This whole recipe took maybe 20 minutes tops to make too. Probably less. Perfect when you’re pressed for time but still want to eat something proper.
All of us would happily have eaten more of this, but there was none left, so I’d say this amount serves two. To be honest, I could probably have eaten the lot single-handed! Yum!
Want deliciously easy, family-friendly recipes like this one delivered straight to your inbox? Click here to sign up. (Of course, I’ll never pass on your email address to anyone.)
📖 Recipe
Gnocchi with cavolo nero and cream
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon crushed red chilli, or to taste
- 225 g cavolo nero (or thereabouts) (aka Tuscan kale or lacinato kale)
- 200 ml double cream
- 25 g grated parmesan or similar hard cheese + extra to serve
- 250 g potato gnocchi – or more if you are hungry!
Instructions
- Wash the cavolo nero thoroughly. Remove the white 'rib' from the centre of each leaf, and then shred the leaves crosswise into 1cm (½ inch) strips. Set aside.
- Peel and finely slice the onion. Peel and crush the garlic. Add both to a shallow pan with the butter, olive oil and chilli. Cook over a very low heat until everything is very soft but not browning.
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Blanch the cavolo nero for 1 minute, then drain with a slotted spoon and add to the onion mixture. Turn up the heat slightly and mix well.
- Bring the water back to the boil and use it to cook the gnocchi, as per the directions on the packet – usually 1-2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the cream and grated parmesan to the cavolo nero, mix well, and reduce the heat to a minimum.
- Once the gnocchi is cooked, drain well and toss with the cavolo nero sauce.
- Serve with extra parmesan and black pepper at the table.
Nutrition
More delicious kale recipes
For more delicious ways to use cavolo nero, check out tasty cavolo nero and hazelnut pesto pasta, zesty Sicilian-style cavolo nero with pine nuts, currants, capers and lemon, and luscious creamy smoked salmon and kale pasta.
David
Just had this. Absolutely amazing. Just added some chicken but then decided next time we will follow the recipe and not mess around.
Helen
So glad you enjoyed it David!
kneadwhine
This looks great! I’ve pinned it for future nomming.
FFF
Thanks! It’s pretty nom-tastic, if I do say so myself 🙂