This asparagus and mushrooms, bacon and Parmesan gnocchi recipe makes a delicious pasta that’s quick, easy and versatile. Keep things simple and let the beautiful fresh produce shine with a light pan-fry in olive oil. Or cook it longer in plenty of cream and sprinkle on extra cheese before serving for a creamier pasta. Try both and let us know what you think.
If you’re a lover of asparagus and mushrooms and a fan of pasta dishes, you’ll adore my asparagus and mushrooms, bacon and Parmesan gnocchi recipe. The dish comes together quickly if you let the ingredients shine, only lightly frying the mushrooms so they’re glossy and still meaty and the asparagus remains bright and crunchy.
And if you are a fan of asparagus, try our recipes for fusilli with a creamy pumpkin pasta sauce, pan-fried asparagus on hummus with dukkah, my sauteed asparagus on goat’s cheese, and Terence’s classic Venetian poached eggs, asparagus, pancetta and parmesan and his contemporary take on that dish, which, while Terence shared it for Weekend Eggs, his series on breakfast eggs from around the world, makes a wonderful amuse bouche.
But back to my asparagus, mushrooms and bacon gnocchi recipe: I’m very satisfied with the light sauce that forms from the pasta water and olive oil that is little more than a sheen, a generous shower of grated Parmigiano Reggiano – or Grana Padano or Pecorino Romano if you prefer – a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, and a grind of cracked black pepper. That’s my idea of a perfect pasta.
My mum prefers creamy pasta sauces – the creamier the better! – so after dishing up a portion for myself, I add some thickened cream to the pan, turn the heat to high for a minute or two to let it reduce, then just before serving add a tablespoon of grated parmesan, stir that through, and serve. Now that’s mum’s idea of a perfect pasta!
If you’re a gnocchi lover, try this crispy pan fried gnocchi with broccoli and bacon, my pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce, our creamy tomato pasta sauce with gnocchi recipe and this basil pesto with gnocchi recipe. For more quick and easy pasta recipes, see our canned tuna pasta with scallions and capers, penne Bolognese recipe for a ‘cheat’s Bol’, cherry tomato feta pasta recipe, basil pesto pasta with potatoes and green beans recipe, fusilli with a creamy pumpkin pasta sauce, and canned sardine pasta with gremolata and pangrattato.
Now let me tell you more about my asparagus and mushrooms, bacon and Parmesan gnocchi recipe.
Gnocchi with Asparagus and Mushrooms, Bacon and Parmesan Recipe
I’ve been talking about great ingredient combinations recently – cucumber and yoghurt, tomato and buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto and melon – and asparagus and mushrooms is another of those brilliant ingredient pairings. And one that crosses culinary cultures, from European to Asian cuisines. I’m going to share an Asian style asparagus and mushrooms recipe next week.
We’ve been eating so much fresh asparagus in recent weeks that I’m surprised our skin doesn’t have a tinge of green to it. That’s something my grandmother would have said when I was a kid. I blame it on the layers of my mother’s cardigans I’ve been living in. It’s absolutely freezing here!
Since I first spotted boxes of gorgeous green asparagus in the supermarket a few weeks ago, I can’t get enough of it. I’ve been cooking up all kinds of new asparagus recipes, from the pan fried asparagus on pesto hummus with dill oil and dukkah I linked to above, which makes a fantastic vegetable side or a light veggie main, coming together in less than ten minutes, to this asparagus and mushroom pasta.
Aside from being an asparagus lover, asparagus is just so affordable right now – as long as you buy your asparagus from Aldi. Forget the big supermarket chains, where it tends to be twice the price, and for a couple of spears less per bunch at that!
I have to confess that I’ve become an Aldi convert on this recent trip to Australia. If you’re not already, compare the prices between supermarkets and I guarantee you’ll be doing your big shop at Aldi, and only picking up the things Aldi doesn’t have from the other supermarkets. More on that in another post!
Now let me share a few tips to making this asparagus and mushrooms, bacon and Parmesan gnocchi recipe.
Tips to Making this Gnocchi with Asparagus and Mushrooms, Bacon and Parmesan Recipe
Just a few tips to making this asparagus and mushrooms, bacon and Parmesan gnocchi recipe, as it’s super easy – I’ve made this half a dozen times in recent weeks as I’ve tested the recipe and each time made it a little differently, but the last couple of times I haven’t even referred to my recipe.
Put a pot of salted water on to boil before you do anything else, as this really is a quick and easy recipe. You’ll add the gnocchi when you’re up to step 5, just after you add the asparagus to your fry pan. Your gnocchi should only take 2-3 minutes to cook, but do follow the packet instructions.
To a deep fry pan, add the olive oil and heat over medium-high until hot and shimmering, then fry the bacon strips for a few minutes – or until cooked to your liking. I’ve been using Aldi’s 750gm Cooking Bacon, which is packed with all sorts of bacon-y bits and proper bacon rashers with strips of fat, which are bewilderingly hard to find otherwise.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon – as you want to keep that delicious bacon-y olive oil in the pan – and set it aside in a dish. Then turn the heat up to high and fry the mushroom slices in the bacon oil for a few minutes. I don’t like to fry the mushrooms for long, as I love the mushrooms meaty and juicy, but it’s nice to brown them a little.
In Cambodia we mostly use shiitake mushrooms, but I’ve been using white button mushrooms, which are ubiquitous in Australia, where they’re also called cup mushrooms or mushroom cups.
Push the mushrooms to the side of the pan then add the asparagus pieces and fry those for a few minutes – or until cooked to your liking. Because I like my asparagus crunchy and bright green, but, for instance, my mum prefers her asparagus soft and doesn’t care what colour it is.
When the asparagus is done, turn the heat down to low, return the bacon to the pan, stir the asparagus, mushrooms and bacon to combine, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the gnocchi to the pan, taking a little pasta water with the pillowy gnocchi.
Once you have all the gnocchi in the pan, add a tablespoon of grated Parmigiano Reggiano or other parmesan cheese, and an additional couple of spoons of water, and stir to combine well.
Note that if you’re going to add cream, then this is the time to do it. I pour in around 50 ml of thickened cream per person to the pan, turn the heat to high for a minute or two to let it reduce, then just before you dish it up add a tablespoon of grated parmesan, stir that through, and serve.
We prefer using authentic Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano – while it’s more expensive than the ultra fine supermarket ‘Parmesan’, you should find that with the real stuff less is more, as it has so much more flavour. But obviously use whichever kind of Parmesan you prefer.
Distribute the gnocchi between plates or bowls, ensuring guests get an even mix of asparagus, mushrooms and bacon. Drizzle on a little extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle on some flaky sea salt, grind on some fresh cracked black pepper, and then shower the pasta with more grated Parmigiano Reggiano and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Gnocchi with Asparagus and Mushrooms, Bacon and Parmesan Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tsp table salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 100 g bacon - rindless, cut into 1cm wide strips
- 200 g white button mushrooms - cut into 1cm slices
- 8 asparagus spears - trimmed of woody ends, chopped into 2cm long pieces
- 500 g gnocchi
- 2 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano - grated, or other parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp flaky sea salt - or to taste
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper - or to taste
Instructions
- Put a pot of salted water on to boil. Add the gnocchi, which should only take a few minutes to cook, when you’re up to step 5, after adding the asparagus to the fry pan.
- To a deep frying pan, add the olive oil and heat over medium-high until hot and shimmering.
- Fry the bacon strips for a few minutes (or until cooked to your liking), then use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and set it aside in a dish.
- Turn the heat up to high and fry the mushroom slices in the bacon oil for a few minutes, then push them to the side of the pan.
- Add the asparagus pieces and fry for a few minutes (or until cooked to your liking), then turn the heat down to low, return the bacon to the pan, and stir to combine.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the gnocchi to the pan, taking a little pasta water with it. Add a tablespoon of grated Parmigiano Reggiano or other parmesan cheese, and an additional couple of spoons of water, and stir to combine well.
- Divide the gnocchi between serving plates, ensuring guests get an even mix of asparagus, mushrooms and bacon, drizzle on the extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle on a little flaky sea salt, grind on some cracked black pepper, and shower with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and serve immediately.
Notes
We prefer using authentic Parmigiano Reggiano – while it’s more expensive than the finely grated ‘Parmesan’, you should find less is more and that you use less as it has so much more flavour, but obviously use whichever kind of Parmesan you prefer.
Nutrition
Please do let us know if you make this asparagus and mushrooms, bacon and Parmesan gnocchi recipe, as we’d love to know how it turns out for you.
This is an excellent recipe. My wife and I loved it. I substituted prosciutto for the bacon (my wife does not like bacon) and used a little bit of butter to make up for the absence of bacon fat. I used the standard cultivated button mushroom which were fine, but I think next time I will use something like shiitake or chanterelles.
Hi Kevin, thank you so much for the kind words. That sounds wonderful! Prosciutto would be lovely. I am very happy to eat a plate of grilled/pan-fried/roasted asparagus and prosciutto drizzled with EVOO and sprinkled with parm, the gnocchi isn’t even necessary ; I’ve been using button mushrooms a lot here in Australia, too, recently. Shiitakes, which Terence and I use a lot in Cambodia, are so expensive. But the big button mushrooms are fine when cooked just right so they’re still juicy. Thanks for taking the time to drop by :)