+ ---
+ title: Crispy gnocchi with Italian sausage and butternut squash sauce
+ lede: Pan-seared instead of boiled gnocchi holds its edge under a sweet squash sauce, and crumbled sausage plus salty feta keep the whole bowl from tipping into dessert territory.
+ eyebrow: WEEKNIGHT / ONE PAN
+ tags: [weeknight, one-pan]
+ serves: "2"
+ total_time: "55m"
+ hero: photos/hero.jpg
+ hero_credit: "not our photo — via artisonalrecipes"
+ satiety: 5
+ serving: "1 shallow bowl (about 24 oz)"
+ macros: { calories: 1027, protein: 34, carbs: 113, fat: 49 }
+ ---
+
+ ## Ingredients
+
+ ### Sausage
+ - 2 links | frozen Italian sausage (about 6 oz total)
+
+ ### Vegetables
+ - 1 medium | zucchini, sliced into half moons
+ - 1 bunch | broccoli, cut into small florets (about 12 oz)
+ - 1 tbsp | butter or neutral oil
+ - 1 tsp | Lawry's seasoned salt
+ - 1 tsp | smoked paprika
+ - 1/2 tsp | onion powder
+
+ ### Gnocchi and sauce
+ - 1 lb | shelf-stable potato gnocchi
+ - 2 tbsp | butter
+ - 15 oz | jarred butternut squash sauce
+
+ ### To finish
+ - 2 oz | feta, crumbled
+ - 2 | green onions, thinly sliced
+
+ ## Method
+
+ ### Thaw the sausage
+ Seal the frozen links in a freezer bag and submerge the bag in lukewarm water in a 9x13 pan. Leave it 30 minutes, swapping the water once if it turns cold.
+
+ > note: lukewarm, not hot. Hot water cooks the outside of the link before the center gives up its ice.
+
+ ### Cook the vegetables first
+ Heat 1 tbsp butter or oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the zucchini and broccoli and cook 8 minutes, until the broccoli is tender and both have taken on brown edges. Season with the seasoned salt, smoked paprika, and onion powder, then pull the pan off the heat and turn the vegetables out onto a plate.
+
+ 
+
+ ### Crisp the sausage
+ Slit the casings lengthwise and peel them off. Mash the meat flat in the same skillet over medium-high heat and fry 6 minutes, breaking it into rough bits, until the edges go crisp. Move it to the plate with the vegetables and leave the browned fond in the pan.
+
+ ### Sear the gnocchi
+ Melt 2 tbsp butter in the pan over medium heat and add the gnocchi in a single layer. Sear 6 minutes total, turning once or twice, until the outsides are golden and firm.
+
+ > note: do not boil the gnocchi first. Boiled gnocchi turns to paste under a sauce this thick; a dry sear gives it a shell that survives.
+
+ 
+
+ ### Build it
+ Pour the squash sauce straight into the gnocchi pan and stir, scraping up the fond. Add the sausage, then the vegetables, and stir over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes until everything is hot through.
+
+ ### Serve
+ Spoon into two shallow bowls and top with the crumbled feta and sliced green onions.
