CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Much as I love tomatoes, I’ve lost my taste for them over pasta.
Lately I’ve found myself craving something deeper, something more savory than sweetly acidic tomato sauce. I’ve wanted something with body, something with a lush mouth feel.
To be blunt, I wanted something fatty.
It took me a while to realize that’s why I was losing interest in tomato sauces – most have little fat. Sure you can pour in some olive oil or load on some cheese, but both flavors end up competing with (and often losing to) the tomatoes.
So I wanted a fatty sauce. Cream-based sauces were an option, but more often than not I find them overwhelming. Too many of these sauces tend to be cloying and dense. I wanted something lighter.
That’s when I started playing with butter sauces. It didn’t take long to find something I was happy with. Melted butter with a bit of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper over fresh fettuccine was delicious.
But that’s hardly a recipe, and would be easy to tire of. So I tinkered some more.
Sage and butter are a traditional combination, so I added some fresh sage to my melted butter and let it simmer for a bit before straining it and tossing it with the pasta. Nice, but a bit flat.
That’s when I got the idea of adding apple cider to the butter.
By simmering the mixture until it had reduced by about half, I ended up with a thickened sauce with a delicate fatty mouth feel and just a hint of acid from the apples.
So I had my sauce. But what to do with it?
First, the pasta. I considered sticking with the fresh fettuccine I’d been using during testing. Fresh pasta is great for its tender texture and quick cooking, but the butter sauce just didn’t cling to it the way I wanted.
My compromise? Fresh gnocchi, a potato- and flour-based pasta shaped like tiny dumplings and covered with tiny ridges. Gnocchi cook up quickly and are incredibly light and tender.
The ridges aren’t just for show. Gnocchi often are paired with light sauces, which the ridges trap, giving more sauce per bite.
So I had my sauce and my pasta. To round out the dish, I topped the gnocchi with lightly toasted pine nuts, which add a subtle nutty flavor and an appealing texture, and finely shaved Parmesan cheese.
Now that’s a pasta dish that won’t soon lose its appeal.
Gnocchi With Cider and Sage Butter Sauce
(Start to finish 20 minutes)
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the cider, salt, pepper and half of the sage and return to a simmer. Do not boil. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the gnocchi according to package directions, being sure to drain them as soon as they float to the top. Transfer the gnocchi to a large serving bowl.
Strain the butter-cider reduction through mesh strainer. Pour the butter reduction over the gnocchi and toss lightly. Top the gnocchi with pine nuts, Parmesan shavings and reserved sage.
Makes 4 servings.
