cauliflower gnocchi with sage, walnuts, and brown butter
As someone who loves seasonal ceremony and used to shop at the store religiously, I am a longtime fan of the Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer, particularly the fall edition. However, being not into the Autumnal Orange Trifecta really limits my ability to enjoy the fall limited edition products, most of which feature a) pumpkin, b) squash, or c) sweet potato, in that order of frequency.
But true fall is not necessarily orange. This is a lie Big Pumpkin has told you.
My true fall is the other trifecta: the brown butter / sage / walnut combination that the Autumnal Oranges are usually tossed in. But because nothing screams cold weather to me quite like a sturdy brassica, I figured—why not apply the treatment to Trader Joe’s real GOAT product, their frozen cauliflower gnocchi?
These lil pillowbois can be polarizing, mostly because people follow the instructions on the bag. Cooked according to Trader Joe, these gnocchis—which must be flash-sauteéd from frozen, not thawed—turn into a gummy disaster using the official directions, mainly because they are steamed most of the way similar to a potsticker (note: the package also includes microwave instructions, which should not be used under any circumstances). This is a mistake. Instead, do as I do, and pretend there were no directions at all: just melt butter and fry them the entire time, building a deeply golden crust that provides the gnocchi badly-needed structural integrity.
Since these boys have a lot of flavor all by themselves, and since a heavy sauce runs the risk of rendering them mush, I prefer to simply double down on the butter for saucing. Sage has a very fall fragrance the second it touches heat, so frying a few small leaves in butter until they are miniature sage chips starts the smells off on the right foot. All in, this dish takes 20 minutes start to finish; I made it for lunch on a workday and had everything cleaned up and an espresso brewed within the span of not-quite-a-lunch-hour.
RECIPE
The oh-so-groundbreaking fall trifecta of brown butter, fried sage, and toasted walnuts is used here NOT as a bath for butternut squash ravioli, but as a light sauce for a pillowy pan-fried cauliflower gnocchi, ready in under 20 minutes.
Effortful time: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Makes enough for 2 served alone, 4 served with something else
YOU NEED
2 packages frozen cauliflower gnocchi, I used Trader Joes—don’t thaw them!
10 or so larger sage leaves, minced
20 or so small sage leaves, left whole
3 tbsp. butter, divided
1/2 cup walnuts (measure whole), chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
MAKE IT
Get your prep out of the way. Rinse your sage leaves, pluck the short ones whole and finely mince the large ones. You can use however much sage suits your taste, but this is what worked for me. Using the bottom edge of a chef’s knife, chop the walnuts into small pieces.
Start your gnocchi pan. Heat 2 tbsp. butter in a 10” skillet over medium-low heat. Swirl it in the pan using tongs until it begins to turn pale brown.
Fry your sage topping. Raise the heat to medium. Gently fry the whole sage leaves in the butter until crispy. Pull these out and set aside.
Cook the gnocchi. Ignoring all the package directions on the gnocchi, dump the two bags straight from frozen into the skillet. Let these fry, undisturbed, for 5 minutes. Rattle them around in the pan with a spoon to begin to brown the other side, another 5 minutes until evenly golden brown on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside.
Build your sauce in another pan. Once you’ve flipped the gnocchi, heat the other 1 tbsp. butter in a smaller skillet over medium-low heat, again waiting until it gets frothy, at which point it will start to turn golden brown—keep cooking this low and slow until it deepens to a solid medium-brown before you proceed. Add your walnuts, chopped sage, and a pinch of salt, toss to coat in the brown butter. Gently sauté these for 3-4 minutes, making sure not to let the walnuts burn (this can happen very quickly).
Combine and serve. When the gnocchi are finished, dump the entire smaller skillet onto them and stir to coat. Turn off the heat and sprinkle the reserved fried sage leaves on top. A few twirls of freshly cracked black pepper wouldn’t be unwelcome, either.