Gnocchi Soup and Making gnocchi

The softness of the gnocchi, the smoothness of the coconut milk, the sharp bite of Parmesan cheese, and the flavour of oregano, create a smorgasbord for the senses in this gnocchi soup. A vegetarian option makes this recipe flexible. Quick cooking time makes it a weeknight cook’s favourite!

A good friend of mine introduced this recipe on a weekend cabin getaway. It was an instant hit with everybody. Of course, the company was great, and I was not on cooking duty, but at 30 minutes from start to finish, I’m sure Nicole was happy too.

Tips for making Gnocchi Soup

Chickpeas provide some protein for the vegetarian option for this gnocchi soup. They also provide some fabulous texture. A can of chickpeas makes quick work for this preparation. However, growing and cooking dry chickpeas is also rewarding, controlling how much salt and preservatives go into your cooking. Though not a true bean, you can learn more about growing and cooking chickpeas and dry beans in this article.

If cooking chickpeas from dry in this gnocchi recipe, after soaking, the chickpeas can be cooked directly in the soup. Just add 15 minutes of cooking time before adding in the gnocchi. Easy!

Of course, my family is happier when I add a pound of meat to the soup pot, such as ground pork or Italian sausage. For other soups I just throw chopped sausage in the pot, but this recipe is so quick it needs to be fried or baked beforehand. To bake sausage from frozen, put it in a baking pan with 2” sides or a loaf pan, put a little bit of water in the bottom of the pan and bake at 375°F for 45 min. If thawed, cook sausage the same way at 350°F for 30 minutes.

I don’t always have celery on hand, and it really would like wetter conditions than my garden provides. I often substitute the herb lovage, which is related, and is also a perennial in zones 3-9. Learn how to dry your own herbs, including lovage and the other herbs in this recipe, in this article. Man, I can just smell that pungent sage!

A word about coconut milk: make sure get quality coconut milk. If water is first on the list of ingredients, try another brand. You get what you pay for.

This gnocchi soup had a  tremendous dose of supergreens. You can almost feel the vitamins seeping into your body! These greens don’t have to be fresh; frozen greens are much more economical. I have also frozen many different greens from my garden. It is as simple as throwing the leaves in a freezer bag. Chopping compresses the greens, but it is not necessary, and might be harder to separate later.  This method works great for things like kale, spinach, beet leaves, Swiss chard, etc.

The cheese is divided into two sections the grocery store –the soft and fancy cheese in the deli, and the shredded and economical block cheese in the dairy section. In this case, shredded Parmesan in the dairy section was the economical option. Let’s not talk about the dry Parmesan cheese in the middle pantry section of the store. That is not an option. We’ve got to have standards!

I was always buying gnocchi in the fresh pasta section in the deli of the grocery store, but the other day I also found it in the dry pasta section. I wondered if the dryer pasta wouldn’t be as soft, but it was quite comparable.

My 13 year old daughter made homemade gnocchi a few times. They were so soft and tasty, and not too difficult, especially if you have leftover mashed potatoes! They can cook right in the soup! It is definitely worth trying! This recipe will be included below the gnocchi soup recipe.

My daughter also said to mention that this gnocchi soup recipe makes a great stir fry. Fry the ingredients, minus the liquids, but including the bouillon, and then add the coconut milk as sauce. Leave out the water/broth.

So we have seen this gnocci soup recipe with vegetarian and meatetarian options, homemade, homegrown options or grocery store options. So whichever path you take, Let’s Get Cooking!