Pan toasted Gnocchi and grilled peach summer salad

For me summer announces itself, if I have started thinking and putting a summer salad for lunch. Days when you want to eat light because the mercury is gradually going up. So I had a panzanella in mind but a bag of fresh Gnocchi sitting in my fridge just changed my ideas. Now gnocchi is pure carbs, so adding another creamy sauce with loads of cheese would’nt be my idea of healthy week day eating. It will be more of my weekend reward if I worked hard in the gym. So I thought to teem it up with all the veggies I had in mind for my panzanella. On a food website I got inspire to grill the peaches. Now I am yet to get a grill pan so my peaches which I miserably tried grilling in the oven became mushy. I am sure you will do a better job of it.

So let’s quickly dive into the ingredients and instructions of this crackling salad.

Ingredients

• 250 gms gnocchi.
• 2 medium size firm peaches
• 8-10 cherry tomatoes
• 1 mid size cucumber
• 1 small red onion
• Handful of rocket leaves
• Sweet red chillies for garnish
• 1-2 tsp of oil for roasting the boiled gnocchi

For the dressing

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard

Method

• Boil the gnocchi as per packet instructions. Drain and toss in oil else they will all stick together into a giant mass. Set aside
• Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a flat and wide pan. Add gnocchi and ensure to separate them if they are stuck. On slow heat roast them till they have some crispy brown skin.
• In a grill pan brush some oil. Cut the peaches into broad slices and place the fleshy side down so that it gets the grill marks. It needs 1-2 min on each side else it may get mushy. Use tongs to toss them around. Once done set aside in a plate.
• For dressing whisk all the ingredients together.
• To assemble add the ingredients(tomatoes, cucumber, onion, rocket, peaches and gnocchi) either in a bowl or plate and pour the dressing. Place rings of red chilli for garnish, adding that pop of red colour.

Variations

The floor is all yours. You can make any variations or even add some grilled meats to this combination. As I mentioned my original plan was to make a panzanella. So you can replace gnocchi with toasted bread as you do in a panzanella.

Final thoughts

This is a great salad which has summer all over written on it. You can have this as a meal or teem it with grilled meats like lamb chops or a grilled chicken. Salads are a great way to get so much nutrition in your body. It does need some chopping and assembling but its a healthy and balanced meal. I would love to hear if you try this one out.

Until next time, Eat Healthy!

Check out some more interesting salads from my recipe collection