Food shopping, even now after a full year of the pandemic, continues to be a challenge for us. We’ve found that agile substitutions whenever planning a week’s cooking and eating is a skill that continues as spot shortages in food supplies continue. This skillet dinner was a good one for us. It employs shelf stable gnocchi, canned beans and canned tomatoes, and I could readily substitute the remaining kale I had in the fridge for the chard the recipe originally called for.

I’ve recently discovered Eating Well magazine and have found the recipes on their website and in their periodical are delicious as well as healthy. This recipe, originally published in the January/February 2009 issue, is all that, AND vegetarian. As the cheese is optional, it easily translates to a plant-based winner.

Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided 
• 1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi  
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• ½ cup water 
• 6 cups chopped chard leaves, (about 1 small bunch) or spinach (I substituted kale)
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings 
• 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed 
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper 
• ½ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (left out to make more of a vegan meal)
• ¼ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese (left out to make more of a vegan meal)

Method

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes.
3. Add chard (or spinach) (or kale) and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer.
5. Stir in the gnocchi and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan (I left this out). Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.

For fellow Noomers:

Serving Size: 1 Cup (which is approximately 1/6 of recipe) Per Serving: 326 calories; protein 13.7g; carbohydrates 56.1g; sugars 4.9g; fat 6.6g; sodium 610.3mg.