Easy, Healthy Comfort Food

For one of our wedding presents last year, we were lucky to receive this cheerful chicken serving dish, just the thing for serving up some delicious comfort food on a cold winter's day.

We were inspired by the rustic Italian cuisine on our honeymoon in Italy and this recipe reminds us of some of the food we ate on our travels.  It uses just 4 ingredients (yes, just 4), very little preparation and is fast cooking to make a quick and nutritious meal.  

Cheesy Gnocci with Spinach and Beans

Well I'm not exactly the greatest of food photographers but this definitely tastes better than it looks and is well worth a try ...

Ingredients:

1 x 400g pack of fresh potato gnocchi

160g of baby spinach (or other greens, such as chard leaves)

1 x 400g tin of butter beans (or chickpeas or flageolet beans)

30g of Gruyere (or other cheese of your choice)

Method:

1. Pre-heat the grill and cook the gnocchi in hot water according to instructions (usually takes 2 - 3 minutes).
2. Steam the spinach/greens in a steaming pan over the gnocchi to soften up at the greens at same time.
3. When gnocchi is cooked, drain and gently stir in the tinned beans  (pre-cooked so its just a case of heating them up) and spinach.
4. Season and sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
5. Grill until the cheese is melted and golden

A substantial meal for vegetarians but for meat-eaters, works well as a side dish to pork or sausages.