The Recovery Kitchen is all about making things from scratch and much like the Homemade Pasta post, I had a go at making gnocchi by hand.
Some takeaways from making these little Italian dumplings:
1. They are really easy to make. It's pretty much mashed potatoes with flour.
2. Gnocchi are the Italian version of Slovak Halušky. I love drawing food parallels between two different cultures.
3. Unlike other pastas, gnocchi aren't all that labor intensive. In other words you don't have to be like my Great-Grandma who would spend all day making pasta in the kitchen.
Overall, gnocchi are a delicious accompaniment to an Italian feast and can be enjoyed plain or smothered and covered in your favorite sauces!
Ingredients:
Potatoes--- 1 Lb
All-Purpose Flour--- 3/4 C
Ricotta Cheese--- 1/4 C
Egg--- 1
Basil (Dried)--- 1 Tbs
Salt and Pepper--- To Taste
Olive Oil--- 1 Tbs
Start by baking potatoes at 425F for about an hour. Remove potatoes from oven and let cool enough to handle. The skin should peel off easily and once the potatoes are peeled, mash in a large mixing bowl. To making the dough easier to work, try and mash any big potato lumps.
To make the dough, gently knead in the flour, ricotta and a whisked egg. Season dough by working in salt, pepper and basil.
Once dough is formed, divide into smaller loaves and roll into long, narrow strips (almost like a kielbasa/sausage). Flour your knife and slice dough into small pieces (mine were about the size of dice).
To give the dumplings that classic gnocchi look, roll on the back of a fork to give them a nice pattern and rounded shape.
On the stove, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add gnocchi to the pot and let cook until they float to the top of the water. Because they are so fresh, it'll only take 1-2 minutes for the gnocchi to cook.
Strain from water and top with your favorite sauce or simply with basil, grated Parmesan and oil!
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