September 17, 2012
Gorgeous Gnocchi
I've been working in the garden lately
Although it's still early Spring, and we're not safe from frosts yet, I've got potato shoots sticking above the soil promising big things things come later in the year.
Actually I've had to cover my potato pots with chicken wire as my naughty doggie likes to snuffle his snout through the dirt, digging up potato flavoured balls to play with. He doesn't consider this a waste of epicurian delights, after all they're just potatoes- right? But fresh potatoes are so lovely, it wasn't until I grew my own that I realised potatoes are really as crunchy and juicy as apples!
Potatoes are really native to South America not Canberra, and weren't introduced to Europe until about the 16th century, where the Italians added them to the little dumplings previously made with semolina, bread crumbs or even ricotta, and a new classic was born. They can be boiled or boiled then fried, are delicious carriers for sauce and they stick to your ribs in true Nonna food fashion.
Yummo!
500gr Potatoes (floury types are best, but this is what I had to hand)
1 cup gluten free Flour
2 Egg Yolks
big pinch of Salt
First things first, cook your potatoes, the idea is to keep the potatoes as dry as possible as that will keep the gnocchi as light as possible. You can bake them in the oven but that will take a while, or you can cheat just a little like I did, and microwave them instead. Shhhh.... just don't tell all the Nonna's out there, will you?
Stab the potatoes with a fork to pierce the skin and to avoid the potato exploding in the microwave
Cook them until nice and very soft
Scoop the potatoes out of their skins while still nice and warm
Have you seen one of these before? Its a Potato Ricer and it's kind of like a huge big garlic press, but for potatoes. It smushes the spuddies out of the little holes making little rice-like grains or strands. If you don't have one, you can just mash them up instead
So strangely satisfying....
Let the potato cool a bit for a while, just enough so that the egg yolks won't cook when mixed in
Add in the flour, yolks and salt then knead briefly until it forms a soft, slightly sticky dough
Don't pound away at it or it will turn into tough little nuggets, try and use a gentle touch to create light, fluffy little pillows instead
Divide the dough into quarters, then roll into a finger-thickness sausage and cut into little pieces about 1 1/2cm long
Roll each little bitty down the back of a fork, pressing slightly to leave stripy little indents around their girth. These grooves will trap sauce in them later on, ensuring each bite has a lovely sauce to dumpling ratio instead of just starchy solids
Keep going until all done
Pop the gnocchi into a pan of salted boiling water, and then wait until they float to the surface
As soon as they float, scoop them out and drain before tossing through the sauce of your choosing
Today I choose cheese-less Pesto!
1 cup or 1 bunch Basil
1/2 cup toasted Pinenuts
1 or 2 cloves of Garlic
Nice Olive Oil, about 1/2 cup or as much as needed
big pinch of Salt
Blend all the ingredients together, adding more oil if needed to make a loose sauce. I left mine a little chunky for a bit of yummy texture
Carefully stir the sauce through the gnocchi until they are all nicely coated and stuck in all those groovy grooves
Pile up high in your bowl, and dig in!
Scatter with Parmesan cheese if your InTolerances will let you, but these are delicious just as-is. Soft and billowy little pillows of potato - Yummo
So my Dear Readers, do you enjoy basil, and do you have much going on in your garden at the moment?
Polyanthus not potatoes, but protection guaranteed!
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Ohhh so yummy indeed! Love the gnocchi...and anything with Basil pulls my heart strings!
ReplyDeleteBasil is just so lovely isn't Ina- delicious indeed!
DeleteYou make it look so eeeeeasy peasy! Brilliant work! I have a bag-o-spuds in the cupboard waiting. Do you reckon low carb potatoes will still work?
ReplyDeleteI don't see why not, although they don't cook up as nice and fluffy as some of the other varieties. Let me know how they turn out :)
DeleteWell you can't get much more awesome than home made gnocchi! I've never tried it before but it looks so easy... I'd love to give this a try! And that lactose free pesto looks divine :) I love basil but I'm afraid I don't have a garden - I have to get my supplies from Coles instead :(
ReplyDeleteI hope you do try it out Christine! Fresh picked just can't be beat, but my Dad used to grow herbs for Coles in Queensland, and his were awesome too- although he was certainly never paid enough for all his hard work :)
DeleteI haven't made gnocchi for yonks and everything in the blogosphere at the moment is pointing towards me making the delicious tasty soft pillows of fluffy goodness. (Although seeing as though it's been a while it would probably be more like the tough little nuggets you also speak of.)
ReplyDeleteWith your bread making skills I'm sure you have a lovely light touch Brydie :)
DeleteI've never made gnocchi, but you make it look very simple - might have to give it a go!
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot of fun Amanda, let me know how you go :)
DeleteActually you're right about potatoes and how crunchy they are. I was lucky enough to get some fresh from the ground and I just roasted them and they were so good! This gnocchi looks amazing :D
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing isn't it Lorraine, and sometimes keeping it simple is the best indeed! :)
DeleteI've always thought gnocchi would be super difficult to make, but now I'm very tempted to give it a go!
ReplyDeleteMuch easier than you think Lucy, let me know how they turn out!
DeleteBec, your gnocchi look superb and you make it seem so easy! So good that GF flour can be used!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lizzy, I was determined to make it work- or else!
DeleteThanks for the potato history lesson (love it) :) My garden is pretty non-existent. we're attempting a herb garden though!! Ben loves gnocchi, I really should make some myself - never have! Thanks for the inspiration. Adore basil, pesto, mmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteHeidi xo
You are welcome indeed Heidi! I hope your herbs go crazy, they're so yummy indeed. I bet Ben would be super impressed :)
DeleteOh, your gnocchi look SO much better than my clunkers!! Thanks for the step by step, Becca.. xx
ReplyDeleteOnly because mine were cut smaller Celia! xox
DeleteYou've got me so excited for my next adventure with Gnnochi! I need to get a potato ricer pronto! =D
ReplyDeleteIt's like playing with PlayDoh toys! Lots of fun indeed :)
DeleteWhat a great looking gnocchi and that's a great time-saving tip about cooking the potatoes in the microwave. I've just visited Celia's blog and she's been talking about how wonderful freshly harvested potatoes are compared with what you buy in the supermarket. I think pesto gnocchi is my favourite. I'll look forward to making this xx
ReplyDeleteI hope the family likes it Charlie, but when will you find the time this week? :)
DeleteI ate gnocchi once (in Thailand - serves me right yeah?) they were AWFUL!
ReplyDeleteYours look so good - I might be tempted to try again XO
Oh, and I love Basil - we're planning growing pots of tiny-leafed basil this year... still too chilly to do that here yet...
DeleteNo wonder they were awful Janet, it must be like eating Aussie Pavlova in New Zealand! :P
Deletexox
We still have frosts here too, I won't bother planting until halfway through next month to be on the safe side :)
Just gorgeous! But I can't agree with your microwaving efforts... :)
ReplyDeleteShhh, don't tell the Nonnas on me Christie!
DeleteBeautiful, fresh, delicious recipe. Love that you cook from your own garden. So jealous! And that potato ricer thingamabob looks like so much fun lol! Making gnocchi from scratch looks just as much fun to make as it is to eat. Maybe something could get the whole family to do together. Though, I know that'd be hard for my family because everybody jsut wants to eat but nobody wants to cook LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks Winston! The ricer is lots of fun, really cool indeed :)
DeleteIsn't that always the way? As long as they do the washing up though, that's alright!
Perfect little pillows :) the pesto looks great!
ReplyDeleteWhy thank yo indeed Nic! :)
DeleteI have never made gnocchi before although I have always meant too, and I love eating it :) I will have to give it a go! In the garden at the moment I have loots of salad greens and tones of coriander and parsley, no basil... for some reason it isn't doing well at the moment :(
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame, I have trouble with my coriander bolting to seed as soon as it warms up.
DeleteI can hardly wait to start planting the whole garden out as soon as the frosts are over :)
Gnocchi has always seemed too intimidating to me - you've made it look so easy! My mom actually suggested she wanted to try it (never having made the "normal" version either). I talked her out of it... now, I'm going to flip her your post and set a date to try this together.
ReplyDeleteAs for the garden, here in Canada fall has arrived - we are preparing for a winter of squash and root veggies. Nothing growing in my garden but some basil clinging on for dear life in a pot on our patio right now!
What a nice dinner date indeed! Let me know how it works out.
DeleteI hope you get a nice wave of Indian Summer before the cold sets in for months of misery :)
So easy to make and so delicous, my 2 little kids would love to help make this, will make it a holiday project.
ReplyDeleteI bet they'll have a great time! They can pretend it's Potato Playdoh :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for this recipe! It goes straight into my dad's inbox right now. Since he has started eating gf he can't have his beloved gnocchi anymore, but he has also become adventurous in the kitchen, and I know he'd have fun to make these!
ReplyDelete