One-Pan Creamy Tomato Sausage Gnocchi with Spinach

Instructions

1. Heat a large deep 12-inch skillet or 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook for 7 to 9 minutes, breaking it into small browned crumbles and letting the meat sit against the hot pan long enough to build color.
2. Add the onion to the sausage and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. If the pan looks very greasy, spoon off the excess but leave a thin coating behind for flavor.
3. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato paste darkens to brick red and smells sweet instead of raw.
4. Pour in the white wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble for about 2 minutes, until the wine is reduced by roughly half.
5. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, heavy cream, and chicken broth. Stir well and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, then taste the liquid before salting because sausage and Parmesan can make the finished pan plenty savory.
6. Add the uncooked gnocchi and stir until every piece is coated. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5 minutes so the gnocchi cooks in the sauce and releases starch.
7. Uncover and cook for 4 to 7 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the gnocchi is tender and the sauce looks glossy but still a little looser than a finished pasta sauce. That extra sauce is intentional for leftovers.
8. Reduce the heat to low and fold in the spinach a handful at a time until just wilted. Stir in the Parmesan until melted and creamy, adding a splash of broth if the sauce tightens too much.
9. Finish with the lemon juice and basil, then taste and adjust with salt, more pepper, or another small squeeze of lemon. Rest off the heat for 5 minutes before serving with extra Parmesan.
10. For leftovers, refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat gently with 1 to 2 tablespoons broth, milk, or cream per serving, stirring slowly until the sauce loosens back up.