This is one sexy dish.
You know, this is the first time I ever had Gnocchi. Seriously! The absolute first time. I have seen it several times and always attracted to trying the dish because the small pasta pieces seems so soft and decadent. I was always so curious.Every recipe I seen always looked so good. The reason it took me so long to try Gnocchi is because I felt that it was one of those ingredients that was above my “cooking-grade”. I also feel some kind of way about cooking with ingredients that I can’t pronounced or is pronounced completely opposite of how it is spelled. It gives me the impression that it is too fancy. Which is probably why Gnocchi is as “fancy” as I am going to get. But I was in Trader Joe’s and it was on sale for a buck and some change and I thought it was a perfect time to get creative and try it. “When in Rome”, right?
For this to be the first time where I tried and made Gnocchi I have to tell you, I don’t know why I waited for so long to try this beautiful pasta. First of all, I love pasta. Second, it is the softest and most delicate thing I think I ever tasted. It is a food that you are forced to eat slow because of its delicateness. Adding jumbo lump crab meat, large shrimp, and white wine sauce to the Gnocchi makes the dish taste like something that should be at a 5 star restaurant. Like seriously. This is an incredibly romantic dish. You will love this dish and I know the ingredient list and steps seems to be a bit intimidating, but I promise you that if you make this dish, you will be so glad you did. I am glad I did. All I needed was a glass of chilled wine, garlic bread and salad. Oh yea, this is not a healthy dish. After one taste, you won’t care.
I want you to get creative with this dish. You can totally add lobster, scallops, clams, or crawfish. Go crazy! Get creative!
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 shallots, chopped
- 1½ c. white wine
- 1¾ c. heavy cream
- ½ lemon
- 2 c. Parmesan Reggiano Cheese
- 6 oz. large shrimp, cooked ( I cooked about 15 or so pieces of large shrimp)
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 16 oz. lump crab meat
- 1 lb. Gnocchi
- parsley for garnish
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the Gnocchi to the pot and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes. Once all the gnocchi has floated to the top of the pot, remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and turn to a large bowl and cover with paper towel.
- To make the sauce, melt the tablespoons of butter and melt on medium heat in a deep and large shallow pan. Once the butter has melted, add the shallots and cook for 3-5 minutes until the shallots become translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook the garlic for about 2 minutes until it becomes fragrant.
- Add 1 cup of white wine to the garlic and shallots and allow to simmer until reduced by half. Add the other half of the wine and simmer for 2 minutes and add the heavy cream. Allow the cream to simmer for 3-5 minutes and strain the sauce to remove the garlic and shallots and turn the sauce to a bowl to return back to the shallow pan. Return the pot back to the burner and bring to a slight simmer. Add the Parmesan Reggiano cheese, squeeze in the half a lemon, and stir. Turn the sauce down to simmer while occasionally stirring so the milk and cheese doesn't stick.
- In the shallow pan with the sauce, add the gnocchi, crab meat, and cooked shrimp and simmer together for 5-7 minutes. Serve and garnish with parsley.
Stop it. This sounds amazing. Pinning immediately.
Gina
Pink Wings
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Looking to make this recipe this weekend. Wondering how you cooked your shrimp before you added it into the recipe – grill, sautee or boil? Thanks!
I sauteed the shrimp. I thought I mentioned that in the recipe. I’ll check it for you.
Holy moly this looks incredible!!! I saw this on fb and started swooning.
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Thanks suga!
How important is the unsalted butter? Would salted butter work? And did you use fresh lump crab meat and fresh gnocchi or canned/jarred crab and frozen gnocci?
You use the unsalted butter to cook the shrimp. I alwasy use unsalted in case the salt in salted butter is too much for me. But it is up to you. I used fresh lump crab meat (the pricey kind). And Gnocci I used frozen.
I made this, and my family and I loved it, I changed a few things subsistutes for the items I didn’t have, I used shredded cheddar cheese, 1 can of chicken broth instead of wine, scallions instead of shallots, shallots are hard to find here. It was delicious and filling, will defiantly make again.
Thanks for the great recipe.
Thank you sooo much Rose! I am so glad you loved it! Come by again soon.
I can’t wait to try this at home!
Beautiful post, great photos. I will be making this for Christmas dinner (also my first time trying gnocchi). Planning on adding fresh peas, hoping this will pair well with the richness of the sauce. Thank you for posting this.
WHoa Courtney! That is so amazing and I know this will make your family very happy for the holiday. However, can I suggest that you have a backup plan only if you don’t like it or someone in your family doesn’t like it. Christmas is such a huge dinner deal and I would hate that something goes wrong with it and that is all you have. BTW, peas would go great with this dish.
Wise suggestion-to avoid any mishaps, I ran the menu by everyone coming. The dish was a huge hit. Will be making this again. It does taste like a quality restaurant meal.
This makes me so happy Courtney! I am so happy you all enjoyed it!
About how many servings is this? Can’t wait to try it
Depending on the portion size you could get about 4.
Great thank you 🙂
Hope I like it
Me too Trudy!
This sounds delicious! I’m thinking Valentines Day diner, course 1! I just wanted to let you know how easy it is to make Gnocchi at home! We live in the middle of nowhere, Alabama, so it’s not always easy to find. It’s really simple. Boil and mash two medium potatoes mix with 2 cups all purpose flour,1 egg, and a pinch of salt. Form it into a ball and quarter it. Roll it out into logs and cut into 1 inch pieces! That’s it! 🙂 i hope that helps you! Again, I am so excited to try this!
I may have to try it. Thanks!
Thanks for this incredibly simple gnocchi recipe, Cheyenne! I tried it out whilst making this delicious recipe for friends and they loved it! I think the key is not to over-knead so it doesn’t become rubbery. Who knew gnocchi could be so simple 🙂
You are most welcome. I really hope it comes out well for you.
Can you clarify this part of the recipe – strain the garlic and shallots from the cream and then you put the sauce into a bowl and just return the shallots and garlic to the pan? That part confused me. Thanks!
I clarified this step in the recipe. I hope this answers your question.
This sounds absolutely incredible. I plan on making this as a romantic dinner for my boyfriend and I. He loves both gnocchi and seafood! I thought this would be perfect! I do have a question: you have 2tbsp of unsalted butter twice, does that mean it’s really 4tbsp or 2tbsp for the shrimp, 2tbsp for the sauce? Thank you!
4 tbsp altogether.
What did I do wrong if it came out too watery and with sour/sweet aftertaste?
It is difficult to say without watching to see what you did. I am sorry to hear about your experience.
I just made the sauce portion of the recipe to put on top of lobster raviolis, We had this for an Easter dinner. The family went crazy for it!!! They all wanted the recipe. I sent them your way. 🙂
Thanks!!!!
This is great! I am so happy that this came out good for you guys.
I’m planning on doing the same thing using lobster ravioli.
That sounds heavenly.
Oh goodness, I love Gnocchi! I’ve never tried it with a seafood twist though. I feel like this could be a great mix between my two favorite types of food, Seafood and Italian. You can never go wrong with a great tasting plate of pasta. The White Wine Parmesan Sauce, sounds to die for as well.
Absolutely delicious but just to let you know, gnocchi is not a pasta. They are made out of cooked potatoes, egg and a little flour. Very easy to make from scratch and they freeze beautifully!
Thank you for the clarification Carol! I am so glad you enjoyed it! I’m thinking of making it again soon.
What brand of wine did you use?
Hello Chelsea. I am believe I used a Pinot Noir. You can use whatever you like. However, I would refrain from using sweeter white wines.
Pino nourish is a red, did you use a red wine opposed to a white?
I used white wine in the recipe.
If you put a little bit of the gnocchi water which has starch in it, the sauce will become a little more cohesive. 🙂
Thank you for the tip Zach.
This was FANTASTIC! Easy too but tastes better than anything you would get at a gourmet restaurant! Holy wow were the words I used. Thanks for sharing!
I am so happy Lisa! I love this dish. I think you inspired me to make it again real soon!
Delicious!!!!!! Cannot wait to make it with some lobster and scallops!!!! Husband had seconds and co-workers loved the left overs!!!!
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I am so glad it turned out well for you Angela. Keep visiting!
I’m going to make this dish this week but won’t pre-boil the gnocchi. Instead I’ll add them to the sauce and will let it all simmer for a few minutes until the gnocchi are done.
Sounds great Laurie!
How many servings does this make?
I would say 4 but that depends on if you feel that is too much.
sorry … but what is lump crab meat ??
can not wait to try sounds & looks great
Thank you
Paulette,
You can find lump crab meat at a seafood store or the seafood section of your local grocery story. Lump crabmeat is the actual crab meat that is delicious and thick pieces of crab. It can be pricey but really worth it!
Hello! Thinking about this recipe for a dinner party this weekend. Would using snow crab be an okay substitute?
Hello Kayla. I don’t see why you can’t use snow crab. Good Luck!
Just made this and it tastes amazing! I had a slight issue with the sauce where I found that the cheese didn’t really incorporate with the rest of the sauce and sir of became its own layer. How can I avoid this next time?
Thanks!
Hannah,
Overall I am glad that the dish came out well for you. In order to know why your sauce broke I would have to see what happened. It is hard to say without seeing your steps. I made this sauce several times and never had a problem. The only thing I can think of is that it didn’t simmer long enough?Hard to say.
Hi this looks amazing and probably going to be trying soon! Just one question though. What do you do with the minced garlic and shallots? Do you throw them away or keep them on the side and put them back in at the end? Thanks for sharing!!!
Once you drain them you don’t need them anymore.
I loved this recipe. It was go wonderful. Although…. I personally think 2 cups of cheese was way too much. It got string. I’d decrease to one cup. Other than that I would change a thing!!!
Thanks Angela!
Have you ever frozen this? If not, your thoughts on doing it.
I don’t see why not but I haven’t done this. Let me know how it turns out.
How many servings does this make?
I would say about 4-6 depending on how big you serve the portions.
An amazing post, Nicole. It was so scrumptious! Everything about the dish was so perfect. I just used fat-reduced yoghurt instead of the heavy cream to make it a little healthy.
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This makes me so happy Maria! Thank you!
I dont drink wine but so I don’t know what kind to buy to cook with. I hope you can help.
A dry white wine would be fine.
A Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc
As long as it is dry it should be fine.
Could you help me alot of recipes I want to make asks for white wine and I know nothing about wine could you tell me what wine to buy to cook with.
Maybe melt some caramel candies and drizzle with the chocolate? It should harden as well.
I made this today and I must say we LOVE it. Worth all of the ingredients you put into it and to hell with counting the calories. If you do it as a special event meal, you’ll be just fine! Really worth it!
Wow! I am so glad you like it Angela!
Used the recipe for the sauce and it was absolutely delicious. Will definitely be making this sauce over and over again.
Great Denise!
Can you keep the garlic in? Or do you need to strain it?
I would say that is up to you. I like garlic so having it in the sauce didn’t bother me.
OMG, this recipe was AMAZING! I substituted the Trader Joe’s frozen seafood medley for the shrimp, and it was spectacular! Will definitely definitely make again.
Great Melissa!