Gnocchi and asparagus with a devious butter
Crisp gnocchi in a skillet, miso butter melting into an instant sauce.
At a Glance
Story
The lid is doing more here than it looks. Covered, the gnocchi steam in their own moisture and go soft through the middle. Uncovered, that same surface dries out and takes on a crisp shell. Skip the covered stretch and you get crunchy pebbles with a raw seam inside. The sherry vinegar in the miso butter is not optional either, since salt and fat with nothing sharp behind them go flat by the third bite.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 1 × 16 oz package shelf-stable potato gnocchi16 to 18 oz
- 4 tbsp unsalted buttersoftened
- 2 tbsp white miso
- 2 tsp sherry vinegar
- black pepper
- 1 bunch asparagustough ends trimmed, cut into ½-inch lengths (about 1 lb)
- salt
- 2 cup baby arugulapea shoots or other tender greens, packed
Method
The pantry pasta that behaves like a restaurant dish. Ten minutes of actual cooking, most of it spent admiring yourself.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium high. Break apart any gnocchi clinging to each other, add them in an even layer, cover and cook undisturbed until golden underneath and no longer sticking, 2 to 4 minutes. Resist the urge to poke.
- Meanwhile, smash the butter, miso, vinegar and a few grinds of pepper together in a small bowl.
- Add the asparagus and a pinch of salt to the skillet and cook, stirring here and there, until bright green and crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Kill the heat, drop in the miso butter by spoonfuls and stir until every pillow is glossed. Season, then fold in the arugula and let it barely wilt.
Serve immediately, straight from the skillet if there are fewer than three of you and no witnesses. Serves three properly, four with a fried egg on top.
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