Italian Eggplant Gnocchi Bake Recipes

GNOCCHI BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi, and cook until tender, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, crumble the sausage into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until evenly browned. Drain grease, and stir in the spaghetti sauce. Remove from heat, and carefully mix in the cooked gnocchi and half of the mozzarella cheese. Transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.

EGGPLANT GNOCCHI (GNOCCHETTI DI MELANZANE)

Steps:

• Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, score the flesh in a deep diagonal pattern, salt them, oil them, and bake them in a preheated 400 F oven for about 20 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, crumble the mixture by hand, and heat it over a brisk flame in a non-stick pan to drive off excess moisture.
• While the eggplant is baking and cooking, boil the potatoes, skin them, and rice them. Make a mound of the cooked-down eggplant, riced potatoes and flour on your work surface, and work the egg into it, together with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Make gnocchi 3/4 of an inch long and half that in diameter, and set them aside on a lightly floured surface while you prepare the sauce (set a pot of water to heat while you're at it).
• Cut the zucchini into rounds, and sauté them in olive oil with the garlic, thyme and oregano. Cover and simmer the vegetables for 10 minutes; in the mean time the water should have come to a boil. Salt it and add the gnocchi, while adding the shrimp and fresh parsley to the zucchini. The gnocchi will rise to the surface as they become done; remove them with a slotted spoon and add them to the sauce. Check seasoning and cook the gnocchi for a few minutes in the sauce, shifting them about in the pan by shaking it as if you were turning an omelet. Serve, garnishing the dish with finely sliced grilled eggplant if you want.

EGGPLANT & POTATO GNOCCHI WITH CHUNKY EGGPLANT SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the gnocchi, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut the eggplant in half and place on a baking sheet cut side down along with the potatoes.
• Bake the eggplant and potatoes until fork tender, about 50 minutes.
• Let sit until cool enough to handle.
• Scoop the flesh from the eggplant and puree, then place in a strainer in the sink for 30 minutes.
• Scoop out the potato from the skin and pass through a ricer into a bowl.
• Once drained, add the eggplant pulp, egg, and cup of flour.
• Stir until mixed then dump onto a lightly floured surface.
• Use your hands to lightly knead just enough to bring the dough together, dusting with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking.
• Roll the dough into 1 inch thick logs, dusting with flour as needed.
• Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces and place on a lightly floured baking sheet.
• Refrigerate until needed.
• To make the sauce, in a non-stick pan, heat the oil over medium heat until lightly smoking.
• Add the onion and eggplant, and cook until they are both soft and lightly browned, stirring as needed to prevent sticking, about 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook an additional minute or two.
• Add the remaining sauce ingredients, and cook over low heat until the sauce is very thick, about 30 minutes.
• Heat a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
• Cook the gnocchi just until they float to the top, then remove to a large bowl.
• Add a ladle or two full of sauce to the bowl and gently toss the gnocchi to completely coat in the sauce.
• Serve the gnocchi in individual bowls, topped with a little extra sauce, some shredded ricotta salta, and a few baby basil leaves.

ITALIAN EGGPLANT GNOCCHI BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Add the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions; drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is very soft and the onions are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Add the gnocchi, reserved cooking liquid, marinara sauce and red pepper flakes to the skillet with the eggplant mixture and stir to combine.
• Transfer the eggplant-gnocchi mixture to a 9-inch oval or square baking dish. Sprinkle with the provolone. Bake on the top oven rack until hot and bubbling and the cheese turns golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Garnish with the fresh basil sprigs if using and serve.