Gnocchi with Roasted Broccoli, Ham and Gorgonzola Mornay

Well I took a few days off for the weekend food orgy with the fam, based around Thanksgiving. We ate so incredibly well this weekend! Lamb tacos on Wednesday night, French toast from thick sliced cinnamon bread with sauteed apples for Turkey day breakfast, Thanksgiving at the vineyard (Thank you Bush Crispo family) with no less than 7 sides and 6 desserts, a beautiful meal at Molina in Mill Valley on Saturday night (where all cooked entreés come out of the 1000F oven), Puerto Rican breakfast at Sol Food in San Rafael, Southern shrimp and amazing greens and cornbread, prepared by the line cook offspring, and Ramen in Berkeley at Iyasare. OH my... we should be in a coma. It was a heavenly weekend! And really it was not all rich so I don't feel overindulged  ;) . If you want some photos and details of our Thanksgiving from the tall one's perspective,  jump on her blog hannahandhercity.blogspot.com

Today I am writing an easy quick dinner idea for you. As always you can sub out the protien and vegetable for what you already have ,or forget the protien and just make this a great vegetarian meal. Change the sauce and you have a delicious vegan entree.

Gnocchi with Roasted Broccoli, Ham and Gorgonzola Mornay sauce

Serves 4
1 package shelf stable gnocchi
1 head broccoli or 1 bag broccoli florets
4 slices good deli ham cut into  thin strips
1 c. milk
1/4 gorgonzola
1T butter
1T flour
1/2 shallot chopped
nutmeg
chopped Italian parsley

I usually by the whole wheat or sweet potato varieties and actually found these pumpkin ones to be a bit dense.

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Chop your broccoli into florets and mice the shallot. Toss the broccoli with a good drizzle of olive oil and, making sure it is all covered well, season with salt and pepper. Put the broccoli into the oven on a baking sheet with a Silpat and roast for 30 minutes until nice and browned on the edges.

Toast the gnocchi in a dry skillet on medium/high heat shaking the pan to get all the edges golden. Once the edges are golden add 1/4 water and put a lid on the skillet to let the gnocchi steam through. Turn the heat off under the gnocchi. Concurrently start the Mornay by melting the 1T of butter in a saucepan and add the shallot. Continue to cook until the shallot is softened. Add the Tablespoon of flour and cook until golden. This is making a roux which is a thickener.

You need to cook it a little so the sauce doesn't taste raw. Add the milk, whisking all the while to avoid lumps. Continue to whisk over medium until the sauce thickens.
you have now made a Bechamel. Turn the heat off and stir in the cheese (gorgonzola) and grate a tiny bit of nutmeg into the sauce. Adding the cheese turns the Bechamel into a Mornay...voila! Taste the sauce to see if it needs salt or pepper and adjust accordingly.
Assemble it all by putting the gnocchi on a platter, top with the broccoli and sliced ham, drizzle with the Mornay and top with the chopped parsley. If your Mornay seems a little too thick, put it back on low and whisk in a small amount of milk until you are satisfied with the viscosity.

Enjoy!
xo MamaP