Shrimp, Asparagus, and Gnocchi Revisited and Gloomy Saturday

What a horrible spring! This week we had one day that was 80 then it went down hill from there. It has been in the 50's and raining almost every day. I headed back to the local fruit market today to pick up some asparagus I had been eyeing. These things are huge! Also I picked up some prosciutto and another 8lb bag of oranges. Yep we ate almost the whole 8 lbs of the the first bag.

The plan for tonight is gnocchi with prosciutto and shrimp. I am going to make a piccata type sauce to go over it. Here is how I normally make picatta sauce. I don't have any white wine so I am going to make the sauce strictly out of lemon juice and chicken broth.

Gnocchi with Asparagus, Prosciutto, Shrimp,  and a Piccata Sauce

1 cup chicken broth
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 c white wine (use it if you've got it)
2 tsp capers
2-3 slices prosciutto sliced into ribbons
asparagus trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces then blanched
shrimp (today I am using raw) about one lb.
1 pkg potato gnochhi boiled
1 TBSP butter
salt and pepper

Defrost the shrimp if frozen by placing in a bowl of cold water. Every few minutes drain and add new water until defrosted. In a pot boil water and add asparagus pieces and boil for about 5-6 minutes. Remove to a paper towel with a slotted spoon and reserve the water. If you have thicker pieces of asparagus trim them down with a potato peeler so they won't be so woody. Add the gnocchi to the asparagus water. (Cook per package instructions) In a pan add chicken stock (white wine), and lemon juice along with the capers. bring to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and prosciutto. The shrimp will cook fairly quickly and are done when the are pink and begin to curl. Lasty drain the gnochhi and add to the sauce. Stir together and add salt and pepper.