So we had the gnocchi that Peter froze tonight, and they were the absolute best gnocchi he's made thus far! Certainly, I do refer to gnocchi in general as "little pillows of love" among other monikers.But I think the small amount of flour that he added this time really made them tender and delicate. They cooked very quickly, just a minute or two in the boiling water and they floated to the top. We tossed them with homemade sauce and topped with a little freshly grated Parmesan.
Mmmm... too bad there aren't any leftovers!
Showing posts with label gnocchi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gnocchi. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 8
Tuesday, January 1
Gnocchi
Yesterday, we made stuffed gnocchi, for which we needed to make a basic gnocchi. Kimberly likes to refer to gnocchi as 'little pillows of wonderful;' I agree whole-heartedly.
I usually use leftover mashed potatoes to make gnocchi, but we didn't have any this time, so I needed to start with cooking the potatoes. We used yellow potatoes, cooked whole, then peeled and mashed. I added a little evoo, but not much.
After mashing, I was worried that the potato mixture would be too dry. After consulting our America's Test Kitchen cookbook, my fears were assuaged. As it pointed out, the drier the potatoes, the less flour I would need to add, the lighter the gnocchi would be. This was great, because I've found that when I use leftover mashed potatoes, I always add a ton of flour, and the final product is pretty dense; I am always envious of the light gnocchi at restaurants.
As I added the flour, I certainly didn't add as much as usual, which I think would be good. At first, it wasn't coming together, but as I kneaded the potato-flour mixture, it became a nice and smooth, not unlike a bread dough, but with less bounce.
I then rolled out the dough in a small tube (diameter of a quarter, maybe), then used a fork to cut each little dumpling, maybe half an inch long. I then rolled each gnocchi on the gnocchi-board my aunt in Italy gave me (it's wooden, with grooves in it). It made nice little balls, with grooves, just like in a restaurant.
We didn't end up eating any plain gnocchi, I simply froze them (individually on a sheet pan, then when they froze, put them in a ziploc bag). When we want to eat them, we'll just throw them in a pot of boiling water still frozen; once they float, they'll be ready to eat.
Notes and Next Time
Ingredients/Recipe
I usually use leftover mashed potatoes to make gnocchi, but we didn't have any this time, so I needed to start with cooking the potatoes. We used yellow potatoes, cooked whole, then peeled and mashed. I added a little evoo, but not much.
After mashing, I was worried that the potato mixture would be too dry. After consulting our America's Test Kitchen cookbook, my fears were assuaged. As it pointed out, the drier the potatoes, the less flour I would need to add, the lighter the gnocchi would be. This was great, because I've found that when I use leftover mashed potatoes, I always add a ton of flour, and the final product is pretty dense; I am always envious of the light gnocchi at restaurants.
As I added the flour, I certainly didn't add as much as usual, which I think would be good. At first, it wasn't coming together, but as I kneaded the potato-flour mixture, it became a nice and smooth, not unlike a bread dough, but with less bounce.
I then rolled out the dough in a small tube (diameter of a quarter, maybe), then used a fork to cut each little dumpling, maybe half an inch long. I then rolled each gnocchi on the gnocchi-board my aunt in Italy gave me (it's wooden, with grooves in it). It made nice little balls, with grooves, just like in a restaurant.
We didn't end up eating any plain gnocchi, I simply froze them (individually on a sheet pan, then when they froze, put them in a ziploc bag). When we want to eat them, we'll just throw them in a pot of boiling water still frozen; once they float, they'll be ready to eat.
Notes and Next Time
- Any kind of sauce is good for gnocchi: red (tomato), white (cream or butter), pesto, etc. One of the best ways is to simply drizzle nice evoo over the cooked gnocchi, then grate parmigiana over them.
- When we finally cook them, we'll put tasting notes in there.
Ingredients/Recipe
- Yellow potatoes
- Flour
- evoo
Monday, December 31
Stuffed Gnocchi
When we were in Padova over the summer, we went to a restaurant and had Stuffed Gnocchi; they were amazing. The stuffing seemed to be similar to a ravioli filling. The outside was a green potato dough. The contrast between the green and white was pretty cool. They were served in a white sauce, with arugula and cheese. They were pretty big - like the size of a meatball - so there was only 5 on the plate. We decided to try to replicate them at home.
For the outer dough, we made a standard potato gnocchi (see here). We kept it white; in the end, I wish we had colored it with spinach or tomato, to give the dish some additional color.
For the stuffing, we decided to go with a basic ricotta filling, similar to what we make for ravioli. We mixed some ricotta cheese with egg (to bind it together), some parmigiana cheese, chopped fresh parsley, grated fresh nutmeg, and s&p. We mixed it up, but we felt it was too loose to work properly as a filling, so we added some flour. It helped, but we didn't want to add too much, as it was beginning to change the flavor of the ricotta.
Once we had the two parts, we made little beds of gnocchi. We placed a small dollop of filling it he middle, then tried to close the dough around the cheese. It wasn't easy: the potato was uneven around the stuffing.
As we brought the water to a boil, we made a quick sage butter sauce: heated butter, fresh sage, and chopped spinach. It was really tasty.
We put the dumplings in the boiling water and cooked until they floated. After a test, we noticed they weren't totally cooked, so we let them float in the water for a while to ensure they were cooked through.
In the end, we had a nice facsimile of the the original stuffed gnocchi. There were some small problems, but I think they could be remedied through practice.
Notes and Next Time
For the outer dough, we made a standard potato gnocchi (see here). We kept it white; in the end, I wish we had colored it with spinach or tomato, to give the dish some additional color.
For the stuffing, we decided to go with a basic ricotta filling, similar to what we make for ravioli. We mixed some ricotta cheese with egg (to bind it together), some parmigiana cheese, chopped fresh parsley, grated fresh nutmeg, and s&p. We mixed it up, but we felt it was too loose to work properly as a filling, so we added some flour. It helped, but we didn't want to add too much, as it was beginning to change the flavor of the ricotta.
Once we had the two parts, we made little beds of gnocchi. We placed a small dollop of filling it he middle, then tried to close the dough around the cheese. It wasn't easy: the potato was uneven around the stuffing.
As we brought the water to a boil, we made a quick sage butter sauce: heated butter, fresh sage, and chopped spinach. It was really tasty.
We put the dumplings in the boiling water and cooked until they floated. After a test, we noticed they weren't totally cooked, so we let them float in the water for a while to ensure they were cooked through.
In the end, we had a nice facsimile of the the original stuffed gnocchi. There were some small problems, but I think they could be remedied through practice.
Notes and Next Time
- The gnocchi was uneven around the stuffing; we need to find a way to better close the pouches. The potato was a little overwhelming, hiding the flavor of the filling. I think upping the intensity of the filling would also help.
- The stuffing was kind of loose, but needed to be thicker. I think if we add shredded mozzarella or parm to the stuffing to help solidify it some. Also, less egg. And if all else fails, some flour or corn starch.
- I would have preferred a sauce with more sauce; the butter tasted good, but there wasn't much 'dressing' for the gnocchi. Maybe a cream sauce would work nicely. Also, I think adding some mushroom would be a nice thing.
- Coloring one of the components would make the dish more visually interesting would be good. Spinach, squash/pumpkin, tomato, etc, would be fun to try; depending on the season, you could definitely play with the color combo to reflect the time.
- These would be a fun dinner party food. They're kind of time consuming to make, but with a good color contrast, they are a fun food, with a fun surprise in the middle.
- Standard Gnocchi recipe
- Ricotta
- Parmigiana cheese
- Egg
- Whole nutmeg
- Parsley
- Butter
- Sage
- Spinach
- s&p
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