Recipe Background
Grammy’s Gnocchi Soup brings comfort to moving day with crispy bacon.
Late one fall, I found myself carrying a red Dutch oven up three flights of stairs to my very first city apartment. Moving in was a whirlwind of boxes and echoes, but the first dinner, it had to be Grammy’s Gnocchi Soup. I had always loved how the aroma of fresh rosemary intertwined with crispy bacon felt like a warm hug from her. Growing up, it was our cure-all, and now, it was my grounding ritual in this new chapter.
I remember that chilly day, brightly decorated with crunchy fall leaves, as I lined the counter with the ingredients. Chopped kale and heaps of gnocchi sat ready to dive into that pot of bubbling broth. Cooking through the chaos of move-in day was an anchoring moment. While stirring the soup, I realized the golden onions needed a patient touch, just like Grammy used to say, to coax out their sweetness. I found comfort in adding coconut milk, a little nod to creativity that Grammy would have appreciated.
When the soup was ready, a sprinkle of parmesan and a scattering of sizzling bacon were all it needed. I ladled the soup into mismatched bowls, feeling the warmth seep into my hands. It was a small victory against the overwhelming newness. My very own moving-day tradition had begun, seasoned with rosemary and nostalgia, embracing change with each comforting bite.
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 6 carrots chopped
- 4 stalks celery chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- fennel seeds to taste
- red pepper flakes to taste
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth plus more, to taste
- 5 cups kale chopped
- 1 1/2 cups canned coconut milk can substitute heavy cream or whole milk
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 (16-ounce) package potato gnocchi
Directions
- In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the bacon and cook, while stirring, until crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chopped fresh rosemary to the bacon and stir to combine.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon mixture to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Set the bacon mixture aisde.
- Reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings in the Dutch oven, draining the remainder.
- In the Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the reserved bacon drippings.
- Add the olive oil and the onions to the hot bacon drippings and cook, while stirring, until the onions are golden, about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, the celery, the garlic, the dried thyme, the dried basil, the fennel seeds, the red pepper flakes, the salt, and the black pepper to the onions and cook, while stirring, until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Add the butter and the flour to the vegetable mixture and cook, while stirring, until the flour is golden, about 1 minute.
- Add 4 cups of the broth to the vegetable mixture and stir to combine.
- Lower the heat to medium.
- Bring the broth mixture to a simmer and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the flavors meld together, about 20 minutes.
- Add the kale, the coconut milk, the parmesan, and the gnocchi to the soup mixture and stir to combine.
- If the soup mixture seems too thick, add the extra broth until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Serve the soup topped with the reserved bacon mixture.
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