Gnocchi with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce

By Kathleen

Paul discovered a heretofore unknown passion for gnocchi a year ago at dinner with friends. Ever since, he’s always on the hunt for perfect potato gnocchi. I can take or leave gnocchi. Growing up, my mother called them “belly bombs” and they weren’t a food any of my Italian family cooked. My memories of eating most restaurant gnocchi conjure an abdominal sensation similar to stuffing a sock full of ball bearings.

But knowing Paul’s fondness for gnocchi, we continue to search for quality store bought options, until the day I try my hand at making it on my own. On a stop to D.C.’s quintessential Italian market, A. Literri, we loaded our basket with various brands of gnocchi, curious to see which ones would prove to be light, pillowy sauce conveyances and which would be thick, gummy leaden lumps.

Whether good gnocchi or bad, this cream sauce hides a multitude of sins, as it wraps itself silkily around each piece with its cheesy, garlicky embrace. This cream sauce would hold up equally well over tortellini or other pasta, and we’ve found wilting baby spinach in the extra sauce is a perfect side dish.