TriathlEats: Gnocchi With Sausage And Peas
Reward a long training day with this simple one-pan, carb-rich dish.
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Reward a long training day with this simple one-pan, carb-rich dish.
Ingredients
40 gnocchi
½ pound of Italian sausage
¾ cup green peas
(frozen is fine)
4 T butter
4 T cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
Directions
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and brown the sausage. Pieces should be about the size of a penny. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and place on a plate. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Sear the gnocchi in the sausage fat that was left in the pan. Brown the gnocchi on one side and flip over, then add peas, heating them through. Remove from the heat. Add the sausage back to the pan with the butter and cream, stirring constantly. When the butter has melted and you have one unified sauce coating the gnocchi, peas and sausage, season with salt and pepper to taste and then portion onto two plates. Using a peeler, grate ribbons of Parmesan over the top. Scatter on a few fresh mint leaves, and serve. Serves 2.
Chef’s Tip
If you want to “chef the dish up” a bit, purée blanched peas with a handful of basil, water to thin it out and a squeeze of lemon juice (then strain) to make a pea sauce that you can drizzle over the top for an added pop of color and flavor.
RELATED RECIPE: Sweet Potato Gnocchi With Warm Sage And Shallot Oil
Meet The Triathlete-Chef
After growing up around cooking—his grandparents owned a restaurant and his mother worked in the industry—Jason Greer tried his best to not go into the family business. He studied economics, did some consulting work post-college, yet ultimately found himself the chef at Canyon Grill in Chattanooga, Tenn. A self-taught chef, Greer cooks mainly traditional American cuisine (hand-cut steaks, fresh seafood flown in) at Canyon, which was originally owned by his grandparents. Family was also his triathlon inspiration—Greer’s mom chose to drastically change her lifestyle a few years ago by walking, then running, then tackling a triathlon. Equating triathlon to Ironman in his mind, Greer tried to deter her: “I’m telling her, as this is progressing, ‘You’re crazy,’” he says. “[I was] thinking my mom’s about to go off into the distance and run forever, like Forrest Gump.” But it was his mom who trash-talked Greer into competing after his college football days were over, and he’s grateful she did. The two race together, and have convinced Greer’s dad to join, and his mom has now raced an Ironman. “Again, she’s talking trash and told me I have to step up my game,” he says.