Baked Gnocchi with Chicken

Rotisserie chickens are so useful when you want to cook a dish requiring cooked chicken. Whenever I buy a rotisserie chicken we always have the first meal from it as you would any roast chicken with appropriate side dishes and/or salad. But the amount of cooked chicken that is left is a sizable quantity–I can usually get two more meals from it. (Remember there are just two of us here.) So that gives me plenty of opportunity to search out recipes that use cooked chicken in them.

Besides making good use of the rotisserie chicken, this recipe also includes gnocchi, those little Italian potato dumplings that I’ve already introduced you to here. It also includes fresh baby spinach and mushrooms in a very light cream sauce. The casserole is baked and then briefly run under the broiler, so the Parmesan cheese on top gets browned and crusty. As you can see by what’s left, we loved it!

BAKED GNOCCHI AND CHICKEN

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Chicken, gnocchi, spinach and mushrooms in a light cream sauce with cheese.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk ( I used 2% milk. The added fat in the milk helps to thicken the sauce.)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 rotisserie chicken, skin removed, meat cut into small pieces (about 2 cups)
1 (16-oz) package potato gnocchi
1 1/2 cups loosely packed baby spinach
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)

Directions:

1. Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425*F.

2. Heat the olive oil in a deep ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate, and reuse the skillet.

Browning the mushrooms.

3. Melt the butter in the skillet over low heat; add the flour and cook, whisking, 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk and chicken broth until smooth; simmer, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon salt and the nutmeg.

Making the sauce .

4. Add the chicken, mushrooms, gnocchi and spinach to the sauce and stir until coated and the spinach wilts.

Add chicken and gnocchi.

Stir in the spinach.

Sprinkle with the parmesan, transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes. Turn on the broiler; broil until lightly browned on top, about 3 more minutes.