Posted by Racer on June 23, 2004, at 12:25:54
In reply to Re: Oh, la! » Racer, posted by NikkiT2 on June 23, 2004, at 5:50:56
OK, this is my veggie potato gnocchi:
Peel, chop and boil some potatoes until they're tender, and run through a ricer. (I suppose you can mash them, but I have a ricer and it does seem to make a difference in texture. A sieve would probably work, or a coarse mesh strainer?) Put 'em in a bowl about twice the size you think you'll need. (Scientific accuracy is my specialty, thank you very much.) Beat two whole eggs (for about four medium potatoes) and mix in. Now start adding flour, a bit at a time, and mixing it in. If you can find good, coarse, hard milled semolina pasta flour, MUCH better. You've added enough flour when it sticks together in a firmish but not dry lump. At this stage, it's oh-so-appealing.
Now you make it into the dumplings. Classic Italian is to roll out logs of dough, chop off about an inch, and then shape it with a fork for that lovely scallop. Ask me if I can ever be bothered to do all that? Make lumps in any way that works for you, about an inch in size. (When you're working with this dough, flour your surface and your hands. You actually want just the lightest coating of flour on the little gems before cooking.) Put them aside for an hour or so, while you work on the other stuff.
Get the sauce ingredients prepared before putting the gnocchi in to cook, because they cook fast. Unless you also have six arms -- just prepare the sauce stuff first, and don't ask me how I know this.
For four potatoes, I use about six mid-sized tomatoes -- Roma are the yummiest for this, I've found, although any will do. Peel 'em if you have the patience, although it's OK not to -- just better if you do. Scoop our the cores and seeds, chop into big chunks. Chop a small to medium yellow onion, and CHOP a clove or three of garlic -- depending on taste. (Pressing the garlic changes this, somehow. Can't say quite what the difference is, but this is one recipe that I chop for, rather than pressing.) Get out some FRESH basil leaves -- again, to taste, but be generous. A bit of red pepper -- the hot kind, like cayenne, not sweet capsicum, although adding some chopped capsicum sounds like it would be good, too.
Now, you've got that big ol' pot of water boiling away, right? And you've got your skillet on another burner, right? (Biggish skillet, but you're not feeding an *entire* army here, right? You just want to be able to stir without making a mess on the top of the stove.) Into the skillet, put about a tablespoon of butter, and a bit more than that of olive oil. (The stronger flavors, like the Extra Virgin are good for this, too. The subtle flavors blending are good.) So, when the butter is melted, you throw in those onions and garlic, and just saute a bit, until they're soft. Add the tomatoes (and capsicum, if you decide to try it, in which case you're duty bound to tell me how it works out), and the basil leaves. (Nope, no dried basil for this.) Cook it until it looks like a sauce made of chunks of tomato -- not like tomato sauce, if you know what I mean.
The gnocchi will be boiled by this time, because you will not have forgotten -- as I did -- to deal with them, right? Not too many at once, because they don't cook right if they're crowded. They don't take long to cook, and they're usually done when they float -- but sometimes the little buggers fool you, so cut one in half and check to see that it's really done. You'll be doing one of those assembly line things -- putting in some gnocchi, scooping out the floaters into a holding dish, and adding new gnocchi, pretty much constantly. The good news is that they taste so good I always think the effort is worth it. Keep the little darlings warm, then pour the hot, chunky tomato mixture over them and dig in.
There. Now, any questions on why I'll never write a cookbook? (And if you think I'm bad, you should see my grandmother's and greatgrandmother's recipe cards! No amounts for ingredients, but things like "beat 30 strokes with a wooden spoon"!!!)
There's your pasta recipe. Additional advice: make it on a weekend, and find a cute guy to peel them spuds ;-)
poster:Racer
thread:358846
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/2000/20040501/msgs/359438.html