A Week Alone & 10 Minute Dinner

My husband left yesterday for business and he'll be gone for a week. That means I'm left to my own devices in the cooking department! I have to say I cook a bit differently when my husband is away, meaning I usually cook things that take no time at all and I cook much lighter. My husband definitely never minds a salad or fruit for dinner, but that isn't something he would really like every day. I also take an opportunity to experiment in the kitchen when he is away because if something goes terribly wrong, I haven't ruined two servings worth of food, but I must say my disasters are becoming less and less.

Tonight, I can sum up the way that I felt about cooking by one phrase: I couldn't be bothered. Sorry, I just couldn't. I didn't want to spend all day or all evening in the kitchen, but I wanted something warm, comforting, and not too heavy. I made this in less than 10 minutes and it was exactly what I wanted. I made a wonderful gnocchi dish that was flavored with lemon, parsley, and spring onions. I used pre-made gnocchi for this dish and it was totally worth it. Making gnocchi is time consuming and for my quick meal and lack of motivation, the pre-made gnocchi was the perfect solution. Because pre-made gnocchi can be a bit bland and end up being soggy when you cook them, I fried them in a pan. They turned out with a brown, crispy outside that provided that extra flavor and the inside was soft and warm, just like they should be. The lemon, parsley, and spring onions gave everything a wonderful flavor and with the addition of fresh tomato and grated Parmesan cheese, it rounded out dish to perfection. When you're low on time, or motivation, try this out. You'll love it.

Lemon & Parsley Gnocchi
Serves 1 as a main (can easily be doubled)

1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
8oz pre-made gnocchi
1 large spring onion, chopped
3 vine tomatoes, quartered
1 large handful parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
salt and pepper

Get all of the ingredients together and heat the butter and oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat.

Put the gnocchi in the pan and make sure the gnocchi are in one layer in the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Leave them here and don't turn them for 3 minutes. You want them to become brown. Once they turn brown, turn the heat down to medium-low and turn them over. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.

While the gnocchi are cooking, chop the spring onions, parsley, quarter the tomatoes, and grate the cheese.

Put the lemon, parsley, and Parmesan into a bowl. Mix completely.

Once the gnocchi are browned on both sides, add the spring onion and tomatoes. Turn off the heat at this point and let the onions and tomatoes cook from the residual heat for 2 minutes.

Once the onions tomatoes have slightly softened, add the mixture to the bowl with the parsley, lemon, and Parmesan. Mix everything completely and taste. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Pour the gnocchi into a bowl and garnish with a bit of extra Parmesan.

How is that for easy and fast? I have to say I was so happy (and a bit surprised) with how well this turned out and I have to say that cooking the gnocchi in a pan is so much better than just boiling them, especially when you're using pre-made gnocchi. I hope you try this out the next time you want something quick. And, by the way, this will definitely be on the menu the next time I'm dining alone.

Happy Eating!