Bacon and Asparagus Gnocchi

On days where I work from home, I am loathe to leave the house to grab lunch. OK, so part of the reason I do not want to leave is because I am usually working in my pajamas... Also, if I muster up enough activation energy to leave, I'd rather do something like play outside with the dogs or feather toy a cat than drive to get lunch. (Yes, "feather toy" is a verb.)

Now that the first stalks of asparagus are coming to California, I've made it my mission to buy as many bunches as I can and to incorporate them into every meal. Last week, I think I ate a couple of bunches by myself, prepared simply by blanching. I relished each and every stalk with nothing more than a dollop of homemade, garlicky aioli. Winter squashes and chard still hold a soft spot in my heart and my stomach, but I am ready, oh so ready, to move onto to Spring's bounty.

I try to stock the refrigerator with whole foods that can be assembled with little fuss into a meal, although I do have some pantry items that really come to the rescue if I want to take a shortcut. Pre-made gnocchi is one of those items. Sure, it's not as good as the homemade stuff, but if you find some that are only made with potatoes, flour, eggs, and salt, they're not so horrible for you, either, as far as processed food goes.

Once you already have some gnocchi on hand, whether it be of the homemade, shelf stable vacuum packed, or the frozen variety, this bacon and asparagus gnocchi is assembled in minutes. If you want it to be more Italian, swap out pancetta for the bacon. It took me all of 5 minutes to prepare the ingredients, and another 10 to cook them.

The recipe can easily be multiplied. I just wrote out what I did for little old me.

Bacon and Asparagus Gnocchi
Serves 1 hungry person

Ingredients:
1-2 slices of bacon, chopped
10 stalks of asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1 cup gnocchi
Parmesan-Reggiano
salt
pepper

Heat a pot of water for the gnocchi. While your gnocchi water is boiling, saute the bacon in a skillet over medium heat. When the bacon starts to brown, add the asparagus and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Once the water is boiling, throw in the gnocchi. The gnocchi is done when it floats to the top. This only takes a couple of minutes, so don't stray too far from the pot! Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and add it to your skillet with all the goodies. If you want, you can turn the heat back on the skillet to high and pan fry the gnocchi before serving. Add parm, pepper, and salt (go easy, because the cheese and bacon are already salty) to taste.