Welcome to a series where I like to show off some of my food photography work, but also share a recipe for you to enjoy.
I know the title of this post is about Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi, but first, if you’ll let me, I need to digress a bit. Let’s talk about tomato soup. Because after I found myself making these two together for about the 5 billionth time, I realized I couldn’t post one without the other.
I HATED tomato soup growing up.
Like really, really hated it.
And there was a lot of it because I was raised Catholic, and there were only a handful of lent-approved, meatless meals in our household: Tomato soup, fish sticks, and PB&Js. Plus, my parents were working class, and not exactly flush with cash all the time… a couple of cans of doctored soup could feed a family of 6 quite nicely.
The only good thing about tomato soup night is that it also included grilled cheese. BUT in order to get the grilled cheese, we had to at least dunk a corner of it into the foul, foul tomato soup.
So, I would bravely endure- plugging my nose and theatrically gagging through the tiny bite of soup clinging to the edge of grilled Wonder Bread and American cheese slices. (We were super high-class.)
As an adult, I actually discovered tomato soup didn't just come from a can.
I know, right?? In fact, you could make your very own from scratch. Which I promptly decided was not worth my time because…yuck. Tomato soup. Duh.
Turns out I was wrong. Tomato soup is delicious! And don't worry, I discovered this long ago, so it's not like I've been living a savage, no tomato soup existence all these years. However, I did recently discover the easiest, most delicious recipe. And wouldn't you know it, it came from Gywenth Paltrow. (Thanks Gwennie!) It’s from her cookbook “It’s All Easy”, which happens to be one of the books I cook from the most right now.
Again, I can’t take credit for this secret. I discovered it on Well and Good who was sharing the method from Instagram user @nobread. I’ve tweaked it a little, but the gist is, you need to completely ignore the directions on the back of the pack.
That’s right. This is the one time I give you full permission to throw caution to the wind and do your own thang.
instructions
Heat medium to large size frying pan
Melt 2-3 tablespoons grass fed butter in pan (or other oil of your choice)
put STILL FROZEN gnocchi in pan
let gnocchi fry until golden brown then gently flip to other side.
That’s it! Easy right?? The key is NOT to thaw and cook from frozen without adding any water, sauce etc until the gnocchi is cooked through. I like using butter, and then just tossing a little salt and chopped rosemary right at the end.
{from: “It’s All Easy” by Gwyneth Paltrow}
ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion thinly sliced
1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
3 tbsp tomato paste
5 large fresh basil leaves
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes with their juice
2 cups chicken stock
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup cream (optional)
instructions
Heat the olive oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and salt; cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and basil leaves and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes and juice- breaking the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon- and the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup directly in the pot (alternatively, carefully transfer the soup in batches to a blender). Season with salt and petter and stir in the cream, if desired.
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Playing with the "Dark Side"
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Sarah Ehlinger
photography, food photography
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