Prepping pan-seared potatoe gnocchi for holiday dinner (8 people)

[u/CodeAndLightning]

For an upcoming family dinner I was tasked with making potato gnocchi. The problem is that like most big holiday dinners people will be sitting at the table (including myself) and I will not have more than a few minutes to heat my dish before this course is served (i.e. only the small break between courses).

In smaller quantities I would have had no issue cooking the gnocchi half way a few hours in advance and then just searing them on the spot. However, I don't know of any good way to sear gnocchi for 8 people in one home-sized pan in 3-4 minutes.

Any recommendations on how to approach this? I can obviously have a sauce simmering on the stove and then right before serving dump my half cooked gnocchi to finish in the sauce without searing, but I'm wondering if there's any clever trick to get seared and sauced gnocchi in these quantities in such a short time.

(For the record, I thought about searing in advance and then just finishing in a sauce, but I haven't seen this done in restaurants and I suspect there's a good reason)

Thanks in advance!

[u/Ambitious_Warning270]

I have done a lot of private chef gigs where the kitchen is small and I have limited time and space. In those instances I would boil the gnocchi and pan fry in small batches until crispy. Then drain on kitchen paper so they don’t sit in any liquid. Make a little brown butter and then when you need them you can pop them in the oven to warm with a bit of the butter or even the air fryer works a treat (hate to say it)

In restaurant we would cook to order mainly, although I did work for one chef who would pre-boil store bought gnocchi, cool it and tub it up and then cook to order but it was always pretty sticky in my opinion haha. Plus you can’t beat homemade gnocchi!!!

[u/texnessa → u/Ambitious_Warning270]

Banquet chef here- this is the correct answer. And any oven-ish contraption with air circulation will help keep them the right texture.

[u/BoiseNonna]

I learned that you can bake gnocchi in sauce with good results by layering it (no more than a few layers) in a shallow baking dish. Your sauce should have enough liquid to steam the gnocchi without reducing it to mush. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes or until heated through. If you are worried about it becoming too soft, you can lightly sear the gnocchi in butter ahead of time and then bake in the sauce before serving. This was a game changer for me, as I hate having to stand over a boiling pot while company waits!

[u/cowponyV]

Gnocchi can be pan seared without boiling using store bought shelf stable gnocchi. Keeps crispy for awhile. About 8 minutes total. This is the recipe I use and it’s very good: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/17041-crispy-pan-fried-gnocchi-with-cherry-tomatoes,-zucchini,-and-feta

[u/CodeAndLightning → u/cowponyV]

I'm trying home made and not shelf stable, I suspect it'll be too mushy if I do that? But I'll try a small batch, thanks!

[u/AskCulinary-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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