Gnocchi With Squash and Kale

I discontinued most of my magazine subscriptions.  I love, love, love the idea, but my execution stinks.  Each month, they'd come and pile up and then it would feel like a chore, not a little treat that came in the mail.  So as my subscription ended, I chose not renew any....except Martha Stewart and Food Network.  Whatever you think of Martha, her Christmas, Thanksgiving and Valentine's issues are a must in my book.  And Food Network, well because I do love it so.   Every month it comes, every month I flip greedily through it and dog ear page after page after page.  And then each month I forget to pick it back up and make something out of it.  That is, until this month. 

I must have dog eared about half the recipes this month but this recipe for gnocchi with squash and kale made me want to jump up immediately and make it on the spot.  If there had been a leaf of kale in the house, I would have. 

In the end, so glad I did...love this recipe! Next time I'd omit the salt until I tasted it (I omitted it from the recipe below).  It was pretty salty already with the broth and parmesan.  I'd say hold onto it and season towards the end after a quick taste.  I'd also bump up the squash and use the whole squash and cut the gnocchi in half, but that's just because I adore squash and am not a huge pasta/gnocchi person.  I think it was the parmesan, kale and squash that really jumped out at me and they were such a fabulous combination.  Fabulous I say, and super duper quick.  This could easily be a "come home from work and still find the motivation to make this in 20 mins" kind of meal.  I need to start utilizing my Food Network Magazine more often.

Gnocchi With Squash and Kale

from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh sage
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
• 1 bunch kale, stemmed and roughly chopped (about 8 cups)
• 1 17.5-ounce package potato gnocchi
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

Directions

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the squash and cook, stirring, until slightly soft and golden, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, sage, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until the garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Add the chicken broth to the skillet. When it starts to simmer, stir in the kale and cook until it wilts slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the gnocchi, stirring to coat. Cover and cook until the gnocchi are just tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover and stir in 1/4 cup parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan; transfer to the broiler and cook until golden and bubbly, about 3 minutes.