Potato Gnocchi Recipe
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Filed under Pasta, Vegetarian
Updated
My parents took their first trip to Europe a couple years ago, spending a week in the Tuscany region of Italy. They both came back inspired by the Italian food they enjoyed and, as a result started to make many of the Italian dishes they had while in Italy. This is one of the dishes we started making as a result of their trip, and we've experimented with various ratios of potato to flour. What you want is a minimal amount of flour, too much and the gnocchi will be too dense. The trick, we've learned, is to use older potatoes, and to bake them, not boil or steam them, so that they get pretty dried out. Also it helps to put them through a potato ricer for a smoother consistency. Gnocchi goes well with practically any good pasta sauce. The one included in this recipe is a light and easy tomato sauce.
Sauce Ingredients:
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 lbs plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley
Gnocchi Ingredients:
2 lbs whole baking potatoes
2 beaten egg yolks
1 1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
To prepare the sauce:
This sauce requires the freshest of ingredients, in season, to really be its best. If you are working with canned tomatoes, I suggest using this basic tomato sauce recipe instead. ~Elise
1 In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook gently for 10 minutes until the vegetables are softened and cooked through.
2 Add the tomatoes and the wine. Stir and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a low simmer. Cook uncovered until the sauce is thick and the liquid evaporates, about 50 minutes.
To prepare the gnocchi:
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Spear the potatoes with fork tines in several places around each potato to vent moisture as the potatoes cook. Bake the potatoes in their skins until tender, about an hour. Let cool on a rack, cutting them open to help cool and let more moisture escape.
2 Scoop out the potatos from their skins. Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer and into a large bowl. (If you don't have a potato rice you can mash the potatoes by hand and fluff them up a bit with a fork.) It is best to work with the potatoes when they are still warm.
3 Add the flour, egg and a pinch of salt. Mix by hand until you have a nice pliable ball of dough.
4 Prepare a work area and dust it with flour. Take the dough, a piece at a time, and roll it out with your hands until you have rolls about 3/4 inch in diameter.
5 Cut the tubes of dough into pieces about one inch long. Using either the tines of a fork or your fingertip, press against a piece of the dough and roll it slightly to form an indentation (good for catching the sauce). As the gnocchi are made, place them on flat baking pan, lightly dusted with flour or lined with wax paper. At this point you can freeze the gnocchi ahead of time. Freeze them first on a floured or lined tray, then once frozen you can put them into a freezer bag for more easy storage. To cook, just put the frozen gnocchi into the simmering water for the next step.
6 Bring at least 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in a shallow saucepan. Gently drop the gnocchi, a few at a time, into the water. As soon as they rise to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon, draining well. Arrange on a warm serving dish. Continue cooking the gnocchi in the same manner.
7 As soon as all the gnocchi are ready, pour the hot sauce over them and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.
Serves 6.
Recipe adapted from Tuscany The Beautiful Cookbook
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