Crisp Gnocchi With Brussels Sprouts and Brown Butter

Dear NY Times stylist, thanks for using my father's, Michael Lax's, teak handled, cast iron, skillet, the large one, by Copco. Great skillets, but note, if you find one, due to the selection of the teak handle, you cannot put them into the oven. My father was an industrial designer and designed/started Copco. The NYTimes ran his obituary in 1999. He was a diehard New Yorker, born and raised in the west village on Morton Street and he went to Alfred University in the Industrial Ceramics dept.

Rather than honey, I substituted a splash of aged balsamic for sweetness as well as a touch of acidity.

This works great with the Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi too.

This was so good! We roasted the brussel sprouts to make them really crispy and then added them to the skillet along with a shallot and chopped garlic after crisping the gnocchi. Also topped it with a dollop of lemon zested garlic ricotta to finish. It was over the top delicious!

I guess I'm the only whose brussel sprouts didn't cook in five minutes. I tried to follow this using the timing but ended up with hard brussel sprouts so I had to add liquid and let it simmer

Fabulous! Life required that I roast the sprouts. I prepared as directed with lemon zest and red pepper flakes. My helper popped them in oven at 425. They cooked for 25 minutes to perfection. By time I got home, I had enough time to prepare gnocchi as directed before roasting was complete.. I had to make 2 batches for crowd I was feeding - first one used 6 T butter, second batch 4T. Four was plenty. Used balsamic instead of honey. Will make again and again !

I have done this with pancetta rather than butter. It's fantastic, and it also would be almost as good with butter..

Made this into a true 20 min meal by baking the Brussels sprouts in the oven (15 min at 450 degrees) while simultaneously cooking the gnocchi on the stove top. Mixed them together on stovetop at the very end as recipe says. Also, 6 tablespoons of butter seems crazy - I added 2 and my gnocchi were deliciously buttery and crispy! Quick and easy, would definitely make again.

My kids only dabbled in the brussels sprouts (understandable, and: more veggies for me!), but mainly stuck to the gnocchi. My wife - hates "cabbage-y" things - was astonished by how good it was. In my family, this counts as a success. However: - This took much more than 20 minutes, more like 40. - I rounded up on the portions (I live in Europe and buy in grams). Nonetheless, there weren't any leftovers. Feeds four? Feeds two adults and two toddlers. Well.

If the gnocchi immediately sticking to the pan like glue freaks you out like it did me the first time, don’t worry. It will release once the butter melts (and with a nice golden brown crust). Do make sure they are completely broken up before they go into the pan though.

Followed exactly, except my sprouts were big so I quartered them. It took more than 2 min for the butter to brown but once it did, magic. Don’t skimp on the lemon zest and don’t be afraid of some bigger chunks of it after chopping — fried in the butter and honey they are a delightful contrast to the rest of the dish. Don’t overdo the Parmesan at the end, a light sprinkle does the job.

Why decide between Pancetta and Butter when you can have both?!? One of the best things I’ve cooked at home in recent memory.

Cooked this last night and it was delicious. Next time I would double the Brussels sprouts and roast them instead of frying (my pan isn't big enough to properly fry that many sprouts!), try reducing the amount of butter by half (there was so much butter pooled at the bottom of my bowl when we finished it off!), then add the roasted sprouts into the pan to toss with the gnocchi at the very end. We didn't add the Parm because I was lazy and didn't bring it to the table, and didn't miss it one bit!

I think some aged balsamic might be a good substitute for the honey.

We loved this one! I think the secret is a cast-iron skillet. This was the first recipe I’ve ever attempted in my cast-iron, and I am now a believer! I would probably throw in some bacon next time. And a handful of toasted pinenuts.