Posts
Gnocchi con salsa di pomodoro
It's a still night here is Salerno and I'm wearing my black dress with little black sweater to keep the chill out. The sky is showing her sparkling starts and the water's edge is shimmering with the combination of light from town and milky way. I've decided to find a little restaurant to eat some pizza and gnocchi this evening. Walking down the streets like walking through restaurant after restaurant. Everyone is seated outside under canopies and music plays softly blending from one block of seats to the next.
Menus boast of pastas, seafood, pizzas, and wines, while waiters smile and say prego to everyone within seating range. Candles flicker and seems to whisper invites to us all. The cobblestone streets are full women in heels and med in smooth slacks. I can't help but walk with a a smile in the corner of my mouth.
I picked a small restaurant of the main street, smackdab in the middle of this stretch of eateries. After margarita pizza I indulged in the best Gnocchi I have had to date. It seemed very authentic compared to other gnocchi I have eaten in the US and Italy. Rather than the perfect squares and ridged ovals these were pinched and slightly flattened dumplings of tender potato.
Needless to say, I was very pleased. The icing to my cake was being able to get glimpses of flour poofing into clouds in the open kitchen right inside.
To make gnocchi at home try this recipe. I know gnocchi sounds difficult, but it's just a matter of
2 lbs – 2 oz. whole baking potatoes
1 beaten egg
2-1/4 cups flour
1 hefty pinch of salt
1. Add potatoes whole and skin-on in cool salted water, bring to boil and cook until fork tender.
2. Drain the potatoes immediately, then peel being careful not to burn yourself.
3. Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer or foodmill.
4. Add egg, flour and salt to riced potatoes.
5. Mix until crumbles form a pliable ball of dough.
6. Dust counter with flour and roll out a piece of dough with your hands until you have logs about 3/4 inch in diameter.
7. Cut the logs of dough into chunk about one inch long.
8. (OPTIONAL) Hold the tines of a fork against your work surface, then gently press and a piece of dough against the fork with your fingers (Will form a gnocchi with an indent on back from your finger and a grooves on the front from the tines of the fork).
9. Be careful with the gnocchi so they don’t loose their shape as you place them on a lightly flour plates. (don’t let them touch one another or they’ll stick).
10. In a pot of boiling water add the gnocchi carefully, one plateful at a time. As soon as they float, remove the gnocchis with a slotted spoon and set them and drain off the water. ( If making many of these it may be a good idea to shock in ice water then strain and set aside, however they will stick and don't keep well just sitting on the counter).
11. Add more gnocchi to the water and serve the others right away.
Cover in olive oil and basil, butter and garlic, parm, mushrooms, and thyme, or some delicious tomato sauce. MMMMM delish
Photo from: http://www.cookingwithpatty.com/italian/recipe/gnocchi-with-tomato-sauce/
0 comments:
Post a Comment