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Just try to imagine for a moment a planet without pasta. What would accompany our luscious, buttery garlic bread? Have you ever heard of “green beans with clam sauce”? Of course not, you need linguini. Would we even have all of the scrumptious and wonderful sauces that we have today if there were no magnificent vessel to carry the load? I shudder at the thought.

Fortunately though, we don’t have to consider these possibilities, because there are about a million different kinds of pasta within a mile of every urban setting in America. Often, when we think of pasta, noodles come to mind. Long strands of dried varieties that boil until just done, complimented by an almost endless array of sauces and condiments. As a child, I remember my desire for just a plate of pasta with butter and parmesan. Perfection. Today, my palate is a bit more mature and I enjoy every variation I try.

One of my favorite types of pasta is made from potatoes. Gnocchi are like little clouds of heaven that, by design, soak up the flavors that you surround them with.

Whether steeped in a tomato broth or served next to amazing seafood, gnocchi stands up. These pastas are made by combining potatoes that have been cooked, cooled and milled with flour, egg and water into a dough. Then it is rolled into long tubes, cut into small pieces and finally, scored to create more surface area to carry sauce.

If you wish to make your own from scratch, fellow blogger Heidi Swanson from 101 Cookbooks has a very nice version here (You’ll notice Heidi’s are much prettier than mine). My 5 year old daughter and I often make our own gnocchi. She loves rolling out of the dough (she always likes the messy parts of cooking). It’s actually pretty easy to do. If you’re not up for making your own, you'll find gnocchi at the grocery store in the refrigerated section.

Once you have either yours or the store bought version, you have an array of ways to make it. My friends, George and Eileen from Al Forno in Providence, RI, serve gnocchi in a very light tomato broth with handmade Italian sausage. It is one of my favorite dishes at the restaurant: simple, elegant, clean and fresh. I often have to force myself to try other things when I’m there.

The rendition that I offer is extremely simple as well. So simple, that I’m almost embarrassed to call it a recipe. I just sauté the already cooked gnocchi in some butter, garlic and white wine (c’mon what cook hasn’t put these 3 basics together?) then add some grated lemon peel and fresh basil (I also salt and pepper with a slightly heavier hand to the pepper). Shave some fresh parmesan cheese over the top and that’s it. If the idea of no meat appalls you, feel free to add some Italian sausage, prosciutto or whatever your heart desires. As long as you like it, you can’t be wrong.

Gnocchi in Lemon Butter Sauce with Parmesan

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoon dry white wine

1 pound potato gnocchi, already cooked

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan

Fresh basil for garnish

1. Over medium-high heat, melt the butter in a sauté pan and add the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until just fragrant, then add the lemon juice and wine. Reduce for about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add gnocchi and cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the liquid evaporates too much, the water that you cooked the gnocchi in can be added a couple of teaspoons at a time. Add the lemon zest and move gnocchi to a serving plate. Top with parmesan and garnish with basil.

Serves 4 as a main course or 6-8 as a side dish.

As always, feel free to email me at Louistjr@gmail.com or visit my blog at http://louislovesfood.blogspot.com