Gnocchi Gratin with Garlic Bechamel

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Gnocchi Gratin with garlic bechamel is creamy, dreamy, garlicky, bacony, and all-around comfort in a bowl. Great as a side or main dish!

So, Monday….we meet again! Is it just me or are these weeks flying by? Yesterday I was organizing and deleting lots of photos off my laptop and it made me realize that not too long ago, my baby was in fact a teeny tiny baby. She has turned into the most joyful, animated, beautiful and smart little girl. She’s not a toddler any more, she’s a small lady that happens to be turning 3 on Wednesday….excuse me while I go back to bed and cry myself to sleep. Seriously, some days seem to drag on forever, but looking back they fly right by.

Sigh….

Almost makes me want to have another one….almost.

I’m not dropping any hints, fyi.

So, I’ve been wallowing these last few days. Translation: I’ve been shoveling in the carbs. This recipe was one of my favorites I’ve made. Creamy, dreamy, garlicky, bacony and all around comfort in a bowl. Perfect for bad days, blizzards and potlucks alike. Serve it with a salad and that’s dinner. The only bad thing about this recipe is it requires the use of more than one pot. Do I like dishes? Never. Is this dinner worth the extra dishwashing later? TOTALLY. Also, I thought there could have been more bacon. Bacon is what makes the world go ’round, dontcha think?

I’m glad we agree.

Here’s how it goes down–start by cooking some bacon in a pretty deep skillet. I used some thick cut peppered bacon…because I can.

While the bacon sizzles, sprinkle some breadcrumbs into a small skillet with some butter and place over medium heat. Once the butter starts to melt, stir so the crumbs get evenly moistened.

Peel some gah-lic and have it waiting in the wings too. I love garlic. Keeps you healthy…or so I hear.

Get a pot of water and bring it to boil for these bad boys. Do you know how long it took me to find these gnocchi? Yeah…13 days and 6 stores later, I finally found some  at Target!! Who knew Target sold gnocchi of all things.

Once your bacon is done, remove it from the pan and get rid of most of the drippings because…..

we’re going to replace them with butter!! I just had a Paula Deen flashback. Weird.

Once you get that butter into the pot with that tiny bit of bacon grease, grate in that garlic.

You only want to cook it about 1 minute–not long at all! You don’t want it to turn bitter!

After that, sprinkle in some flour! It’s béchamel time, baby!

Once you stir the flour in, things look sort of pasty. Cook this paste a minute or two to get rid of the raw flour flavor and then–

slowly whisk in the milk to avoid lump city.

After a minute or two, your béchamel should start to thicken. Reduce the heat way down and add in salt, pepper and nutmeg. I didn’t take any pictures of that but lets pretend I did.

Don’t forget about those bread crumbs! Once they turn golden, remove from the heat!

After your sauce is complete, you’re going to want to cook that gnocchi. They take 2 minutes to cook. Once they float, they’re done! I strained mine off and dropped them right into the sauce.

Along with that bacon we started with.

Once everything looks bueno, dump it into a baking dish and throw it into the oven. If your sauce got too thick, splash in a little milk or cream.

And then remember you made those bread crumbs, take it out of the oven, sprinkle them on top and place back into the oven.

After 15 or 20 minutes, pull it out and dig right in.

Like I mentioned before, I would have loved more bacon, but this was pretty darn tasty as is. Garlicky, creamy, and dreamy! Mmmmm….

Enjoy! 🙂 Hope you like this one! We sure did!

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4 from 1 vote

Gnocchi Gratin with Garlic Bechamel

Gnocchi Gratin with garlic bechamel is creamy, dreamy, garlicky, bacony, and all around comfort in a bowl. Great as a side or main dish!

servings 2 servings

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 slices thick-cut bacon
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 1/4 cup flour
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups milk
• ▢ 2 large cloves garlic
• ▢ 17 oz package gnocchi
• ▢ salt & pepper to taste
• ▢ scant 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

topping-

• ▢ 2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
• ▢ 1 1/2 tablespoons butter

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Bring large pot of water to boil.
• Sprinkle breadcrumbs and butter into small skillet and place on medium heat. Once butter melts, stir breadcrumbs around to moisten completely and brown lightly. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Once bacon is cooked and crisp, remove from skillet onto paper towels to drain. Leave 1 tablespoon bacon grease in pan and melt in 2 tablespoons butter.
• Grate in garlic cloves and cook 1 minute. Sprinkle in flour and whisk. Cook 1-2 minutes and then whisk in milk slowly to prevent lumps.
• Add in salt, pepper and nutmeg and reduce heat to low. Pour gnocchi into boiling water and cook until they start to float, 2-3 minutes. While gnocchi is cooking, crumble cooked bacon.
• Drain gnocchi and stir into sauce. Add in bacon. Pour entire contents into buttered baking dish and sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes and serve hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 1106kcal | Carbohydrates: 134g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 1692mg | Potassium: 419mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 909IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 326mg | Iron: 11mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Gnocchi Gratin