Spring Gnocchi with Sugar Snap Peas and Dill Cream Sauce

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• The sauce is easy to make.
• Packed with flavor
• The fresh flavors of the sugar snap peas are perfect for spring
• Gnocchi are soft and airy - perfect for a creamy sauce.

Potato Gnocchi Origins and Traditional Preparations

By the mid 1600’s, potatoes had been in Italy for a few generations, but had just begun to make their way into gnocchi in Northern Italy. Before that, gnocchi had existed since Roman times, but were never made with potatoes.

Now, potato gnocchi is probably the most common form of gnocchi, although ricotta gnocchi has also spread from Sardinia (Sardegna) to many Italian regions and throughout the world.  

Gnocchi is fantastic with a variety of sauces, from hearty ragu to pesto to creamy sauces and can be found throughout Italy prepared in many ways depending on the ingredients in each region.

Ingredients

Here is what you need to make this recipe:

• Potato Gnocchi: Make your own (Amazing!) HERE or use a store-bought package of gnocchi.
• Sugar Snap Peas: We blanch ours, halve them and add to the sauce at the end
• Kosher Salt
• Olive Oil: Just a bit to cook the onions
• Yellow Onion: Foundational flavors of the sauce start with onion cooked in olive oil.
• Green Peppercorns: Whole green peppercorns have a distinct aroma and flavor that is welcomed in this sauce.
• Bay Leaf: Subtle but delicious, bay leaf is a great addition to a cream sauce.
• White Wine: A dry white wine like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc is perfect here.
• Vegetable Stock: Using vegetable stock lends a subtle complex flavor to this cream sauce. Try to use low sodium stock for best results.
• Heavy Cream: Good quality heavy cream is important in the sauce and gives it a nice rich and creamy consistency.
• Balsamic Vinegar: This secret ingredient really launches the sauce to a new level without being discernible in the dish.
• Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated parmigiano reggiano is added at the end. This king of cheeses is delicious.
• Fresh Dill: This is the herb that changes the sauce. Added at the end its subtleness permeates the sauce and complements the cream and sugar snap peas perfectly.
• Ground Green Pepper: Just a pinch is needed, but worth it!

See recipe card below for quantities.

Substitutions

Here are a couple of common substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:

• Sugar Snap Peas: Regular fresh peas, frozen peas or snow peas would work similarly here. You could also use other fresh vegetables or spring produce such as fresh asparagus or broccolini in place of the sweet peas.
• Yellow onion: ​Red or white onion as well as shallot can be used in place of the yellow onion.
• Green Peppercorns/Ground Green Pepper: Black pepper is a good substitute, although the flavor will be slightly different.
• Vegetable Stock: Chicken stock works in this recipe too, but we prefer vegetable broth in this spring vegetable gnocchi dish.
• Parmesan Cheese: For a distinctively different sheep's milk cheese flavor, use an Italian pecorino cheese instead

How to Make Spring Gnocchi with Sugar Snap Peas and Dill Cream Sauce

If using store-bought gnocchi from the grocery store, this recipe is quite easy and simply requires you to make the cream sauce. The sugar snap peas are blanched, then the sauce is prepared. Once the sauce is ready, the sugar snap peas and the cooked gnocchi is added to the sauce to serve. That’s all it takes to make this wonderful dish!

Equipment

Here is what you need to make this dish. No special equipment is necessary, but these items are helpful to have on hand.

• Large pot to blanch the peas and also cook the gnocchi
• Large bowl of ice water to shock the sugar snap peas
• Large skillet or large sauté pan to make the sauce and combine the dish
• Fine mesh strainer ​to strain the solids out of the sauce
• Spider spatula or slotted spoon to remove the gnocchi from the pot

Step-by-Step Instructions

Blanch and Prepare the Peas

• Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the sugar snap peas and cook for about 2 minutes or until the peas are the consistency you like (we prefer a little bit of a crunch in ours). Strain and transfer immediately to the ice bath and let sit for at least 5 minutes to stop cooking. Remove from the ice water, dry with a paper towel, then cut in half across the snap pea, and split some open to use as garnish (optional). Set aside.

Start the Sauce

• Add the olive oil to a large pan over medium heat. Once hot add the onions, whole green peppercorns, and the bay leaf. Cook until the onions are soft and just start to get some golden brown color, about 4 minutes. Add the white wine and cook it down until it is almost completely evaporated and there is no alcohol smell remaining (about 2-3 minutes).  

Reduce the Stock and Cream

• Add the stock and cook over medium heat until reduced by half. Strain out the solids and discard, returning the liquid to the pan to reduce down to about ¼ cup. Add the heavy cream and cook until the sauce thickens (5-10 minutes). 

Finish the Sauce

• Turn the heat to low and stir in the balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese, fresh dill and ground green pepper. Fold in the sugar snap peas and remove from the heat. 

Cook the Gnocchi and Finish the Dish

• In a large pot of salted boiling water, add the gnocchi and cook according to the package directions until they float. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider spatula and transfer gnocchi into the sauce. Turn the heat back to low if needed to warm the sauce through. If the sauce needs any thinning, use the cooking water to reach your desired consistency. Gently combine and taste for seasoning adding a pinch of salt and more pepper as desired. Serve.

Variations

Here are a couple ways to change up this recipe:

• This same dish can be made with any pasta instead of gnocchi
• Add a protein such as grilled chicken or shrimp

Storage

How to store leftover gnocchi:

• After it has cooled, place leftover gnocchi and sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

How to reheat leftover gnocchi:

• Reheat gnocchi and sauce over low heat on the stove to gently warm everything through.

Can you freeze leftover gnocchi?

• Leftover gnocchi can be frozen for up to 4 months in a covered container. Let it thaw before reheating.

How to make ahead and freeze fresh gnocchi:

• If making fresh gnocchi from scratch, put the sheet tray in the freezer for 30-40 minutes then transfer the frozen gnocchi to a zip top freezer bag for up to 6 months. Cook directly from frozen for 2-3 minutes or until they float.

Troubleshooting

There shouldn’t be any real issues as long as you take your time with the sauce. The texture and flavor will not be as good if you blast the sauce on high heat, and you can burn the cream.

Sauce too thin? ​Continue to reduce a little longer to get a thicker consistency.

Sauce too thick? If you want to thin out your sauce, simply add some of the reserved water from cooking the gnocchi.

What to serve with Spring Gnocchi

This creamy delicious dish is best served with a nice bit of bread (or garlic bread) to soak up the extra sauce and a fresh, bright salad. That’s all you need!

What Wines To Drink with Spring Gnocchi

Cream sauces love dry white wines! We have a few favorites but you really can use any dry white wine that you like, including the one used to make the sauce. Big rich chardonnays are fantastic with this dish but you can also have any sparkling wine, Pinot Gris or Pinto Grigio, or sauvignon blanc.