This bacon, mushroom and broccoli gnocchi bake topped with Cheshire cheese is a perfect, simple weeknight meal.
I hadn’t had gnocchi for what feels like years. It’s probably only a matter of weeks, but when you’ve got a gnocchi addiction it can really mess up your sense of time. So, I had to remedy this today and made this simple yet delicious gnocchi bake.
I adore tenderstem broccoli. Although normal broccoli is great too, tenderstem is perfect for a week night meal because it cooks so quickly. You can throw it into any dish (within reason) without needing to pre-cook it.
Mushrooms and bacon are classic pairings for broccoli, so they go wonderfully together in this dish. The deep, earthy flavours complement the gnocchi beautifully. I topped my bake with a little sprinkling of Cheshire cheese – this is a hard, mild, crumbly cheese (if you can’t get Cheshire cheese then any cheese which fits this description will do the job) which just adds another level of taste, plus if a dish doesn’t have cheese it’s not worth having!
Putting the bake under the grill for a few minutes adds a lovely additional extra texture. You have to give this one a go!
Ingredients, Substitutions and Variations
- Smoked bacon lardons – use smoked bacon for the best results in this dish. Lardons are usually cheaper than slices of bacon, but if you can’t get them, you can just chop bacon slices into small pieces about 1cm in size.
- Chestnut mushrooms – chestnut mushrooms have that lovely earthy flavour. You can substitute for white, woodland or button mushrooms.
- Tenderstem broccoli – if you can’t get hold of tenderstem, use normal broccoli cut into small florets.
- White wine – optional, sub with water if you don’t want to use it.
- Crème fraiche – for that delightful creaminess that brings the dish together.
- Gnocchi – use store bought or homemade.
- Cheshire cheese – you could also use feta, Parmesan or even plain old cheddar cheese.
Top Tips
- Browning the lardons
Brown your lardons well – you want them to be golden brown and starting to crisp for the best flavour.
- Grilling
The recipe calls for you to put the bake under the grill, but you could also use the oven if you’re not in a hurry. Cook for about 20 minutes if you do it this way.
- Make ahead
This is an ideal recipe for making ahead – you can keep the finished dish in the fridge for 48 hours and reheat as needed.
Get the cook books:
Bacon and Mushroom Gnocchi Bake
Save This RecipeIngredients
- 200 g smoked bacon lardons
- 300 g chestnut mushrooms
- 200 g tenderstem broccoli
- 1 small glass white wine
- 200 g half fat creme fraiche
- 500 g gnocchi
- 50 g cheshire cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to max.
- Brown the lardons in a frying pan over a high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and chopped broccoli – cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring now and again, until the mushrooms have reduced in size a little.
- Add the wine – let it bubble down a little, then add the creme fraiche, gnocchi and 100ml water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the gnocchi is squidgy to the touch.
- Season with salt and pepper, pour into an oven proof dish and evenly crumble over the Cheshire cheese. Cook under the grill until the cheese is melted and starting to bubble. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply