Foodie Fridays: Gnocchi with Sausage, Peppers, Spinach, and Beans

I have been seeing a lot of gnocchi recipes on food blogs recently, and lo and behold, a free magazine we received in the mail from our local Kroger also included a gnocchi recipe.  The picture of the dish looked so good that I decided to give it a try, especially as it was very easy to prepare and I had most of the ingredients on hand.  This hearty dish tastes as good as it looks!  I only modified the recipe slightly, changing some of the ingredient proportions and including some tomato paste I happened to have left over from another recipe.  I doubled up on the parsley because I did not have the fresh basil called for in the original recipe, but the basil would probably be an excellent addition (you can reduce the parsley to 2 T. and add the same amount of chopped basil).  I have another package of gnocchi left in my pantry, so this recipe will be made again soon!

Gnocchi with Sausage, Peppers, Spinach, and Beans

3 T. olive oil
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage (I used mild turkey sausage)
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 green onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C. chicken stock or white wine
2 T. tomato paste (optional)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 can (15 oz.) white beans, drained
1 bag (about 6 oz.) baby spinach
1 package (16 oz.) gnocchi
1/4 C. minced fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the sausage and bell pepper and cook, breaking the sausage apart into bite-sized pieces, until the pepper is tender and the sausage is lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes.  Mix in the green onions and garlic and cook 1-2 minutes longer.  Stir in the stock or wine, tomato paste if using, Italian seasoning, and beans.  Add the spinach in batches, a large handful at a time, stirring until wilted before adding more, until all of the spinach has been added.  Reduce the heat to simmer.

Add the gnocchi to boiling salted water (I omit the salt) and cook according to package directions (about 2-3 minutes).  Scoop the gnocchi out of the water and add to the sausage mixture.  Stir about 1 cup of the cooking water into the mixture, combining well.  Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Served garnished with the Parmesan cheese.  Serves 6.