Gnocchi with Green Olive Sauce

I love gnocchi.  I love olives.  So when I see a recipe for "Green Olive Gnocchi," it definitely gets starred in my google reader.  It's been in the queue for a long time/  This week, I finally got my iPad 2.  One of the reasons we bought an iPad was to have quick access to the internet on the floor where the kitchen, living room, and dining room are.  I use a lot of internet recipes, and I end up printing them out because the kitchen isn't a good place for a laptop.  This recipe was the iPad's inaugural dish.  I have a book stand with a plastic splatter guard (a requirement in my kitchen, I tend to make a mess) which is big enough to cover an iPad very well. 

This recipe is from 101 Cookbooks.  The post mentioned that the sauce isn't especially pretty, but compared to my green onion sauce experiment, this looked pretty good.  I topped it with fried capers as suggested, and then added some extra sliced green olives so I wouldn't waste what I bought at the olive bar. 

Unlike the original post, I used frozen gnocchi, so I boiled it instead of pan frying, so it lacks the nice browning that it should have.  I've tried the vacuum sealed gnocchi and it's not as good as the frozen, so I don't buy it.  If I could get truly fresh gnocchi, I would definitely try pan frying it. 

I expected this sauce to be salty because of the amount of green olives involved.  But surprisingly it was mild.  Maybe that's because I added some extra veggie broth and cream to make the sauce more smooth.  Regardless, it was quite good.  It didn't taste like I was eating pureed green olives, the cream, onion, and broth tempered it very well.  I made a half recipe of sauce, but still ended up with a lot.  This picture is of my plate, which had less sauce than my husband's.  It would have looked prettier if I hadn't dumped a ton of sauce on it, but it seemed wrong to waste it when it tasted so good!  I've managed to teach myself not to over spice my food, but adding extra sauce is a weakness I find nearly impossible to overcome. 

The fried capers added a nice bit of saltiness that made up for the fact that I didn't get it from the olives.  The chopped green olives on top tied the whole dish together.   This meal was comparatively quick to make since there was not a lot of chopping and no meat to cook. 

I didn't change very much with this recipe.  I added a little extra onion since my onion was on the small side.  Instead of meticulously using one half of 1 and 2/3 cups of olives, I used a full cup.  Instead of thinning the sauce with more cream and water, I substituted veggie broth for water. 

I'll certainly make this again.  Next time, hopefully with fresh chives from my garden!

Gnocchi with Green Olive Cream Sauce
Adapted slightly from 101 Cookbooks
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped (the original calls for a large onion.  I used about 3/4 of a small one).
1.5 Tbsp olive oil (or clarified butter, I used oil).
scant 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/6 cup (3 Tbsp) heavy cream
1 cup sliced, pitted green olives plus a little extra for topping (I used green Greek olives from my grocery store's olive bar).
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp capers, rinsed
gnocchi (I used frozen)

Method:
1) Make the sauce.  Saute the garlic and onion in olive oil until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the veggie broth and cream and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and stir in the olives.  Let cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a blender jar.  Puree the mixture and thin with more cream and/or veggie broth if needed.  (I ended up adding a little more of both).  Add lemon juice to taste and blend again.  Set aside.
2)  Cook the gnocchi by cooking according to the package. 
3)  Fry the capers.  While the gnocchi is cooking, heat a small skillet or sauce pan with some veggie oil and fry the capers until they look crispy.  Using a slotted spoon, remove them from the oil and set on paper towels to drain. 
4)  Toss the gnocchi with half the sauce, and then add more if desired.  Salt and pepper to taste and top with fried capers and additional sliced green olives.