gnocchi with prosciutto and asparagus

Ingredients

• 5 thin slices prosciutto di Parma, roughly chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• fresh asparagus, cut into bite sized pieces, steamed
• Gnocchi, recipe follows
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Directions ( i didn't know how to do this, so just in case you didn't here's info)

Steaming asparagus is quick and easy. If you want to get fancy though, you can buy a special asparagus steamer that will allow for steaming the asparagus upright. A steamer basket will also do the trick nicely though and costs a lot less.

Once you have removed the woody stems and washed your spears, place them in the steamer basket, put some water in the bottom of your saucepan and place the steamer inside it. Put the lid on and let them steam. Depending on how tender you want your spears, they should be ready in about 2-3 minutes. They'll be done when they've turned bright green and are fork tender.

If you don't have steamer basket, you can bundle the asparagus together with some twine and stand them upright in a pot with about an inch of water in it. This will ensure that the tips of the asparagus are steamed and not boiled.

THEN!!!!!-

In a large saute pan heat the butter, add the cooked gnocchi, tossing gently in the butter. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano tossing to combine, once the gnocchi are coated with the butter and cheese, remove the pan from the heat and add the prosciutto and steamed asparagus tossing to combine. Finish the dish with a small dusting of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve immediately. Yummy!!!!

Gnocchi: (if you're like me, skip to the bottom)

• 3 pounds baking potatoes, like russets
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 extra large egg
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil

Boil the whole potatoes until they are soft (about 45 minutes). While still warm, peel and pass through vegetable mill onto cleanpasta board.

Boil 6 quarts of water in a large stock pot.

Make well in center of potatoes and sprinkle with the salt and all the flour. Crack the egg into the center of well and using a fork, incorporate the potatoes, salt, flour and egg. Once egg is mixed in, bring dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed. Kneadgently another 4 minutes until ball is dry to touch.

Roll baseball-sized balls of dough into 3/4-inch diameter rods. With a knife, cut the rods into 1-inch long pieces. Lightly roll pieces off of the back end of a fork, or the concave side of cheese grater, until all the pieces are finished. Drop these finished pieces into boiling water and cook until they float (about 1 minute). Meanwhile, continue with remaining dough, forming rods, cutting into 1-inch pieces and flicking off of fork. As gnocchi float to top of boiling water, remove them with a spider or skimmer and place them in a bowl with a 1/2-cup of canola, tossing to coat so they don't stick together.

Gnocchi can be made up to 48 hours ahead. Before cooking thegnocchi, set up ice bath with 6 cups ice and 6 cups water. As the gnocchi cook and are floating in the boiling water, remove them with a spider or skimmer and place them into the to ice bath. Let sit several minutes in bath and drain from ice and water. Toss with 1/2-cup canola oil and store covered in refrigerator up to 48 hours until ready to serve.

I'm too lazy to make this, so just buy already made gnocchi (i love spinach gnocchi with this but the regular flavor is TOTALLY fine) and follow the directions on the package on how to make them.