Sheet Pan Gnocchi

Two years on RecipeSpinoff. March 2016 feels like a different life, though the kitchen is the same and the truck is the same and the kids are the same but bigger and louder and more expensive. Amber is fourteen. Tyler and Justin are turning eleven this month. Josie is eight. Dave still cannot cook. Gayle still thinks my carrots are too thick. Larry is still on the road. The blog has more readers than I ever expected and fewer than I deserve, which is a joke because I do not deserve anything, I just cook and write and hope it matters.

Tyler and Justin birthday is next week and the cake question is not a question: chocolate sheet cake, same as every year, same as always. Two boys, one cake, one recipe that has been in this family for three generations and will be in it for three more if I have anything to say about it.

I made my corned beef and cabbage this week because March is here and corned beef and cabbage is the March meal the same way turkey is the November meal and ham is the December meal. I am not Irish. Nobody in Grand Island is Irish except on March seventeenth, when everyone is Irish, because that is how St. Patrick Day works: universal temporary Irishness facilitated by corned beef and beer.

The corned beef simmers in water with peppercorns and bay leaves for three hours, then you add the cabbage wedges and potatoes and carrots for the last hour. The kitchen smells like a pub and the meat is tender and the cabbage is silky and the whole thing costs about twelve dollars and feeds six people for two meals. It is simple and old-fashioned and exactly the kind of food I love: food that has been made the same way for a hundred years because nobody has figured out how to improve it, and nobody needs to.

Justin asked if corned beef comes from corn. I said no. He said then why is it called corned. I said it is about the salt. He said that makes no sense. He is right. It makes no sense. But it tastes good, and taste does not need to make sense. Taste just needs to be good.

After a week of simmering corned beef and fielding questions from Justin about the etymology of salt, I wanted one more dinner that asked nothing complicated of me — just a sheet pan, some good vegetables, and heat. Sheet pan gnocchi is exactly that kind of food: the same spirit as the corned beef, which is to say it has been figured out already and does not need your help. You toss it together, the oven does the work, and you end up with something golden and tender that the whole table finishes without comment, which in this house means it was perfect.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb shelf-stable or fresh potato gnocchi (do not boil first)
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 medium zucchini, sliced into half-moons
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Fresh basil for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper or give it a light coat of cooking spray.
Combine everything. Add the gnocchi, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper, red onion, and garlic to the sheet pan. Drizzle with the olive oil, then sprinkle on the Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes (if using), salt, and pepper. Toss directly on the pan until everything is evenly coated.
Spread into a single layer. Make sure the gnocchi are not piled on top of each other. A crowded pan steams instead of roasts, and you want the edges to get crisp and golden.
Roast. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 25–30 minutes, tossing once at the halfway point, until the gnocchi are golden and slightly crisp on the outside and the tomatoes have burst and caramelized at the edges.
Finish and serve. Remove from the oven, scatter the Parmesan over the top, and let it sit for two minutes. Tear fresh basil over the pan and bring the whole thing to the table. Serve directly from the sheet pan if you want one fewer dish to wash.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sheet Pan Gnocchi — Simple Food for a Family That Shows Up Every March