Simple Pleasures: Gnocchi with white beans and spinach

I was cruising around the interwebs looking for something interesting to add to our dinner rotation this week and I stumbled on a recipe for skillet gnocchi with white beans and chard from EatingWell.com. I wasn't thrilled by the recipe as presented but used it as the inspiration for the recipe you see here. This turned out to be a nice, warm pasta dish for a bitter cold night. At about 500 calories a serving (4 servings), this dish packs a lot of flavor without layering in much fat.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cracked red pepper
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup chicken stock*
6 cups baby spinach leaves
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
1 15-ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

*To make this dish vegetarian, substitute vegetable stock or water for the chicken stock

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic. Season with cracked red pepper, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of freshly cracked pepper. Saute for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the 1/4 cup of wine. Reduce heat to medium and add chicken stock. Cook until the onion is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated, 4 to 6 minutes.

Onions and garlic sauteing with chicken stock, cracked red pepper, salt and black pepper

Add oregano and basil. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until it starts to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes.

Spinach melting into the onions and garlic

Stir in tomatoes and beans and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the gnocchi, cover and allow to simmer for 3 more minutes. Check the seasoning again, add salt and pepper to taste.

Red, green, and gold coming together in the pan

Transfer the gnocchi mixture from the skillet to an 8"x8" casserole dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Place the casserole dish under the broiler until the cheese is melted, bubbling and slightly brown, about 2 minutes.