Mushroom Gnocchi with Meatballs

My last post for those of you playing along at home was for my Easy Ricotta Gnocchi. Well. Now I give you a quick & super tasty sauce to put with it...Mushroom Gnocchi with Meatballs. Ok, cheat's meatballs aka pork sausages out of their casings. See, I told you it would be quick.

For some added texture in the dish I have used a mixed variety of mushrooms - shiitake, oyster, king brown, button/cup & portobello. Feel free to use whatever variety you want/find, as long as they are meaty firm mushrooms.

I have to be honest and say that the oyster mushrooms are probably the most delicate of the line-up, and while they tasted great, they weren't exactly ready for their close-up if you know what I mean - so I left them out of the photos and just ate them instead! (see my notes)

If you have read some of my previous recipes you will know that I love to use good quality sausages to cut down on my prep time - all the chopping/mixing etc is done for you.

You also get a nice smoky hit of flavour from some roughly chopped pancetta. For a cheaper alternative you could use smoked bacon instead.

The timing mentioned in this recipe is for pre-made store bought gnocchi - I thought this would be just easier, seeing as though you could also pair this versatile sauce with pasta, or even serve it over creamy mashed potatoes. I do say that I highly recommend it with the homemade ricotta gnocchi, but we all have different tastes/time pressure so feel free to go whichever way you like!

If you plan to make my Easy Ricotta Gnocchi for this dish, see my notes at the end of the recipe for timing.

Please enjoy my Mushroom Gnocchi with Meatballs,

Lee-Ann ♥

Suggested Sides:

Quick Garlic Rolls (No Yeast)

Crunchy Garlic Bread Bites

Mushroom Gnocchi with Meatballs

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Cheat's meatballs & mixed mushroom sauce, served on my Easy Ricotta Gnocchi.

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Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 566kcal

Author: Lee-Ann Grace

Ingredients

• 450 g good quality pork sausages
• 400 g mixed mushrooms - thickly sliced - I used shiitake oyster, king brown, button/cup & portobello
• 80 g mild pancetta - roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoon salted butter
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 garlic cloves - crushed
• 2 teaspoon french mustard
• 500 g store-bought gnocchi or make your own with my Easy Ricotta Gnocchi
• grated fresh parmesan for serving
• fresh thyme optional for serving

Instructions

• Squeeze sausage meat from casings & form into bite size rustic meatballs.
• Heat a non-stick fry pan over medium high heat & fry meatballs for 4 - 5 mins,or until just cooked, remove the meatballs to a plate & carefully wipe out any excess fat in the pan using kitchen towel/paper (see notes).
• Turn the heat down to medium low & add pancetta to pan, frying for 2 mins or until browned and add to plate with meatballs.
• Add mushrooms to pan along with butter and fry for 4 - 5 mins, or until mushrooms start to colour & soften.
• Cook store-bought gnocchi (if using) according to packet directions (see notes).
• Turn the heat up to medium high, add wine, mustard & garlic to pan & bring to a rapid simmer - simmer until wine has reduced by half.
• Add back meatballs & pancetta, mixing to heat through.
• If serving with gnocchi, add the cooked gnocchi to the pan along with 1 - 2 tablespoon of gnocchi cooking water to thicken the sauce.
• Serve immediately topped with fresh thyme & parmesan.

Notes

For those of you who are thinking of giving the Easy Ricotta Gnocchi a go (go on, you know you wanna!) they are start to finish in 30 minutes, about 15-18 of which is the prep/rolling. So if you prep the gnocchi first, then boil the water & put them in to cook when you add the wine to the mushrooms in the pan - all you have to do is ladle the cooked gnocchi along with some of the cooking water into the sauce & toss. Preparing the gnocchi should only add about 20 minutes on to your total cooking time.

A note about the oyster mushrooms - they are quite delicate & so end up looking quite limp next the other, more sturdy mushroom varieties. If you want to avoid this just keep them aside & only add them in during the last 1 -2 mins of mushroom frying time. Or if you are like me, just bung them all in at once and if you are taking a photo for your blog just leave out the oyster mushies out of your photo. Simple. They still taste good.

If your sausage meat has rendered a fair bit of fat when you fried the meatballs and you need to wipe out the pan, don't wipe ALL of it out. Just leave a little to fry the pancetta in.

Feel free to use store-bought ready-made gnocchi if you wish. If gnocchi isn't your thing you could also serve this mushroom & meatball sauce over pasta or creamy mashed potato.

*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*