Langostino Gnocchi

I encountered it at Trader Joe's and was immediately curious. What is it? Is it like shrimp? Is it like lobster? You know me with curiosity. A bag of Trader Joe's langostino tails made its way to my freezer. Curiosity always wins.

According to Google AI, langostino in Spanish means little lobster but it is not the same species as the lobster.  They are actually considered prawns. So, there you have it. I was, however, left with what to cook with it. Unfamiliar with the ingredient, I thought about a safe dish to test out langostino tails and remembered a pack of frozen gnocchi I had picked up at the Hollywood Farmers' Market. I was hesitant to buy them because of their size. I prefer small gnocchi to larger ones, and these gnocchi were gigantic in my world.

I was told to keep them frozen until they were about to enter the boiling water and thus I couldn't cut them to a smaller size. It is hard to get good gnocchi, so I threw caution to the wind and grabbed a pack. Armed with frozen langostino and gnocchi, I put on my apron for Langostino Gnocchi recipe testing.

INGREDIENTS

seven ounces of gnocchi, cooked al dente

four ounces of langostino tails

one-third cup of canned crushed tomato

one ounce of pecorino romano, crumbled

six tenths ounce of parmigiano reggiano, grated

one tablespoon of unsalted butter

a half teaspoon of minced garlic

sea salt

Heat a Dutch oven over high heat. Once heated, add butter and then minced garlic once the butter starts to melt. As the butter begins to turn caramel color, add crushed tomato and langostino tails. Reduce the heat to medium-high, and sauté for about a minute. Reduce the heat to medium, add gnocchi, and continue to sauté for a minute.  Once the gnocchi are coated with the sauce, add cheese (both of them), and sauté for about a minute before reducing the heat to low.

Continue to sauté until the cheese melts while making sure the gnocchi doesn't stick to the Dutch oven.  Turn off the heat and taste. While I didn't add salt, feel free to add a pinch or two to your taste and stir. Remove from the heat, serve, and enjoy while still hot.