People are always thinking that Mike and I eat pretty decently. And for the most part, it’s true. But, lots of times our meals (especially dinners) are leftovers hobbled together into some sort of strange smorgasbord that I enjoy immensely, but Mike ends up thinking is questionable. Is there really anything so wrong with eating a meal that consists entirely of side dish trials?! I think not, but then again, my food taste is kind of questionable.
Mike is usually good humored about the whole blogging thing – he patiently waits for me to take photos and we often eat our food on the cold side, or microwaved. Actually, come to think of it, sometimes he’s too good about it. Sometimes he’s the one insisting on taking photos when I just want to shovel food into my mouth as quickly as possible while it’s still hot.
Case in point – we were camping (in an olive grove! I highly recommend it) and I made a quick gnocchi dish that I just wanted to shove into my face. Luckily Mike took some photos otherwise I wouldn’t be sharing this. This actually happens to be one of Mike’s favorite kinds of pastas – a simple sardine and garlic sauce that can be paired with any pasta but goes particularly well with the pillowy bite of potato gnocchi.
It’s perfect for a camp meal as well as it comes together in one pot and you really only need 5 ingredients (if you don’t count salt and pepper).
One Pan Sicilian Gnocchi with Sardines Recipe
serves 2
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
- 1 can sardines packed in olive oil (3.75 ounces)
- 8 ounces mini potato gnocchi*
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt and pepper, to taste
- lemon zest, to garnish
Heat up a cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic, pepper flakes, and sardines, along with oil packed in the can to the pan and cook, stirring, until hot and fragrant. Add in the gnocchi and 1/4 cup of water and simmer, stirring often until the water evaporates. Continue to brown the gnocchi, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and squeeze in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Finish with lemon zest and enjoy.
Note: If your gnocchi is on the larger side, you may need a touch more water and a longer simmer/browning session. Taste as you go.
Optional: We love this with a sunny side up egg too – the runnier the better!
Yum yum yum! Mike and Rich have a lot in common, waiting patiently for their wives to PHOTOGRAPH THEIR DAMN FOOD. Hehe. Love these pics, Steph! XO
Hi Stephanie, that seems like an amazing campsite! Which site number did you choose to be in the olive groves?
Thanks!
hi jackie! you can basically camp where ever you like at soul food farms – the owner is really nice! we chose a spot in the olive grove near a picnic table. there aren’t really any defined spots, it’s very casual :)
This looks absolutely delicious, and simple as well. Good stuff.
I came across this recipe 2 weeks ago while surfing your site. I cooked it last saturday night, followed the recipe exactly and it was GREAT. It is strong tasting with the sardines and garlic – which i liked ALOT. great recipe – thanks for posting it!
Just tried this, it was delicious. Added some cherry toms to the pan too.
Hi Stephanie! Thank you for this recipe – it was divine! I wouldn’t have thought to put sardines and gnocchi together, but happened to have Trader Joe’s version of both! I pan-fried the (cauliflower) gnocchi on parchment paper until it was crispy, the took it out of the pan and plopped in the garlic, red pepper, sardine oil and sardines, with some fresh spinach and romano cheese to round it out. Pantry challenge crushed! ?