Home Made Gnocchi

We loooove gnocchi in our house.  I have found a couple of reliable brands that are incredibly tasty, but I've always meant to try my hand at making them from scratch.  I made sweet potato dumplings once before, which were basically gnocchi made with sweet potatoes.    Here is a more traditional potato gnocchi, with hardly any ingredients and not too much skill required.

Once you've made these, you can lay them out on a sheet of wax paper and put them in the freezer (make sure they're not touching one another) until frozen, then put them in a freezer bag to cook later.  (Don't thaw them before cooking.)  Or you can cook them all right away.  I'd recommend lightly sauteeing them after you boil them so they crisp up a bit around the edges - I paired mine with a home made marinara straight after boiling them, and they got a bit mushy.

If you really want them to shine, dress them simply with a little home made pesto after sauteeing, and voila.

Home Made Gnocchi

adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 large russet potato (about 1 pound)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

about 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (all-purpose is okay too)

DIRECTIONS:

1.   Peel the potato and cut it into evenly sized chunks.  Place in a pot and cover with cold water.  Salt it.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat slighly.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until potato is very tender.  Drain.

2.  Use a potato ricer, or a masher, to finely mash the potato, eliminating any lumps.  Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper.  Add about half the flour and stir.  Your goal is to create a dough that is easy to handle.  Add a little more flour if necessary to achieve a dough-like consistency.  Try not to overdo it on the flour.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface a knead a few times to bring it together.

3.  Break off pieces of the dough and roll each one out into a long, thin rope, about 1 inch in diameter.  Use a sharp knife to cut the ropes into 1-inch pieces.  Place them on wax paper, not touching, while you continue to work.  Create a gentle indentation with your thumb on each gnoccho, or press against the back of a fork to create lines.  

4.  When you're ready to cook them, bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it.  Place the gnocchi, a few at a time, into the boiling water and gently stir.  When they rise to the surface, let them cook a few more seconds and then remove with a slotted spoon.   Sautee them or sauce them as you like, but do so soon, because they don't keep long after being boiled.

Enjoy!

Summer Gnocchi

Have I told you lately how much I love gnocchi? So tasty, so versatile. Perfect year-round as a background or foreground ingredient. Here it serves as the host for beautiful summer sweet corn, fresh tomato, onion, parsley, and a delicate brown butter sauce. Easy and fabulous.

This recipe was inspired by one in the new Eating Well in Season cookbook, but I changed quite a bit about it. It would work with almost any summer vegetable, but I think corn takes this recipe to new heights. The original recipe used zucchini, and I'm sure that would be fantastic as well. Feel free to use anything you have on hand, so long as it is fresh and in its peak season!

Summer Gnocchi
adapted from Eating Well in Season
serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. package of fresh or frozen gnocchi (preferably wheat)
2 tablespoons butter
1 shallot or 1/2 onion, chopped
kernels from 2 ears of fresh sweet corn
1 large tomato, chopped
salt and pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook gnocchi according to package directions, until the gnocchi float. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, cook the butter over medium-high in a large skillet until it begins to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Add onion and corn, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.

3. Add tomato, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in parsley and drained gnocchi, tossing to combine everything. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Gnocchi with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

It's time to welcome another vegetable to your repertoire. Broccoli rabe appears in a lot of Italian dishes, but otherwise it's fairly unheard of. It's a leafy green studded with clusters of broccoli-esque florets. It's fairly bitter, but the bitterness goes away with blanching. Here it serves as a wonderful complement to golden gnocchi, spicy sausage, and sweet red bell pepper.

This is a great weeknight dish that comes together without too much fuss. It's a wonderful way to expose yourself and your family to something a little bit different without forcing anyone to venture too far from his comfort zone.

Gnocchi with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
adapted from Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book
serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

salt
1 package fresh gnocchi
1 bunch of broccoli rabe, stem ends trimmed, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 hot Italian turkey sausage link, casing removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Cook the gnocchi according to package directions. Right before draining, reserve about 3/4 cups of cooking liquid.

2. While water for gnocchi is warming up, bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a large, high sided skillet. Salt it and add the chopped broccoli rabe. Blanch for about 2-3 minutes, then drain and set aside. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and warm 1 tablespoon EVOO. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a spoon or other utensil. Cook about 5 minutes, or until browned.

3. Add onion, garlic, red bell pepper, and pepper flakes to the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, or until onions are starting ot get tender. Remove sausage and veggie mixture from skillet and reserve. Add remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO and heat. Add drained gnocchi to skillet and brown lightly for a couple of minutes.

4. Return sausage and veggies to the skillet and toss. Add reserved pasta cooking liquid and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in lemon zest and juice. Serve.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Dumplings

These lovely little dumplings might look harmless, but they are quite the gut-busters. Loosen your belts before this meal. But it is worth every decadent, delicious bite.

This is a southern rendition of gnocchi. It's made from gorgeously hued and almost desserty sweet potatoes, which turn a potentially ordinary dish into something magical.

I have never made gnocchi from scratch before, but I bought a potato ricer a while ago in case the opportunity ever presented itself. Well now that I've deflowered my potato ricer and made this dish, I think you're going to be seeing homemade gnocchi on this site again. And again. Making these dumplings was really fun and rewarding - I got to get my hands dirty, and eat a delicious meal. Isn't that what cooking is all about?

Sweet Potato Dumplings
serves 3
adapted from "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea"

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound sweet potatoes (one very large one should do)
3/4 to 1 cup white whole wheat flour
salt
a pinch of nutmeg
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage (about 5 leaves)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat toaster oven (or regular oven) to 375. Bake sweet potato, skin intact, for 30 minutes or until tender and easily pierced with a knife. Cool until you can handle it without burning yourself. Cut open the sweet potato and scoop out the flesh. Mash with a potato masher or pass through a potato ricer.

2. Combine sweet potato flesh with 3/4 cup flour, pinch of salt, and nutmeg. Stir well to combine - you might need to use your hands to finish the job. (Try it, it's fun). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly, adding additional flour until it is smooth and not too sticky.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

4. Cut dough in half. Roll out each half (with your hands, back and forth on the floured surface) to form a rope that is about 3/4 inch in diameter. Cut each rope into 3/4-inch segments. Press each segment gently with the back of a fork to make a pretty pattern, if you so desire.

5. Line a baking sheet with a clean towel and keep it handy. Put the dumplings carefully into the boiling water, in batches if necessary, and reduce the water to a simmer. Cook about 4 minutes, or until the dumplings rise to the top of the water. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon or mesh strainer, and place them gently on the towel-lined baking sheet.

6. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the butter, stirring occasionally, until light brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper, as well as the chopped sage. Add the dumplings, carefully stirring to coat with the butter, and cook until slightly brown, about 3 minutes. Spoon onto serving plates.

I haven't eaten anything quite this amazing in my brief forays to the south, but if it's out there I'd willingly go back. Although what am I saying; I can make it myself. Enjoy!

Italian Chicken and Dumplings

I have to start off by saying the photo of this dish doesn't do it justice. I am not a professional photographer, but I think even Ansel Adams would fail to capture just how delicious this meal is. It's not that pretty, but it tastes so amazing that it will make up for it a hundred times over.

Imagine the flavor of chicken pot pie, or a rich chicken soup, combined with a subtle pesto, a hint of lemon, and delicious pillows of gnocchi. That is what we have here. I can't sing its praises enough. This dish definitely passed the husband test.

Italian Chicken and Dumplings
adapted from Rachael Ray's "Big Orange Book"
serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons EVOO
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
handful fresh parsley leaves
handful of pine nuts, toasted and cooled
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
3/4 pound of chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup shredded carrots
3 celery stalks, very thinly sliced
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 package fresh whole wheat gnocchi

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the pesto first: In a food processor, combine basil, parsley, pine nuts, cheese, salt and pepper to taste, with 1/4 cup chicken stock. Process until smooth, and stream in 1 tablespoon EVOO while the processor is running. Set aside.

2. Heat a pot with 1/2 tablespoon EVOO over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside. Add another 1/2 tablespoon EVOO and 1 tablespoon butter to the pan. When the butter melts, add carrots, celery, onion and bay leaf. Season with pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, until softened.

3. Sprinkle flour over the veggies and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock, and return chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan. Simmer until sauce has thickened and chicken is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

4. While the sauce is simmering, bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add gnocchi and cook until they float to the top of the pot, about 3-4 minutes. Drain.

5. While sauce is simmering and gnocchi is cooking, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a skillet. Stir in the lemon zest. When gnocchi is done, toss it in the lemon butter sauce in the skillet until golden brown on the edges.

6. Before serving, turn off the heat under the chicken and stir in the pesto. Serve chicken and sauce topped with gnocchi.

Yes, there seems to be a lot involved here, but just be methodical about it and you'll do fine. It's worth the effort, I promise. Enjoy!

Baked Gnocchi

I have to give the disclaimer right away that this is not a low-calorie meal. I never claimed to be helping anyone with their new year's resolutions. This meal is, however, filled with complex carbs (good thing), protein (good thing) and iron (also a good thing). So you might be able to justify the calories and the fat with the above. I did adjust the recipe to make it far less fattening than the original, but I wasn't about to remove all the tastiness. Anyway, it's delicious and comforting. And that's what counts.

It's like a grown-up mac and cheese, only instead of macaroni we're talking about gnocchi - delightful little pillows of potato that are so underrated that someone should be arrested. Luckily we have Giada De Laurentiis to help introduce them to us in an extremely approachable way. If you choose to make the gnocchi from scratch, be my guest. (Mark Bittman has a great-sounding recipe in his How to Cook Everything Vegetarian book). I bought my gnocchi at the store.

Also, if you don't like goat cheese (!) you might substitute some other flavorful cheese, such as aged white cheddar or maybe even smoked mozzarella.

Baked Gnocchi
Adapted from Everyday Pasta by Giada de Laurentiis
serves 4

INGREDIENTS:











1 package potato gnocchi
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups skim or low fat milk
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken (or veggie) broth
1/8 cup all purpose flour (I used whole wheat as usual)
pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper
pinch of grated nutmeg
5 ounces baby spinach
1 1/2 ounces fresh goat cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place gnocchi in a lightly greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together cream, milk, broth, and flour over medium heat. Continue whisking until the sauce is simmering and thickened, about 5 minutes.

3. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg, and stir to combine. Add spinach and toss to coat in the cream. Pour the cream and spinach mixture over the gnocchi evenly, spreading the spinach out to cover all the potato dumplings.

4. Crumble goat cheese over the spinach. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden in places, about 30 minutes.

The result is gooey, rich and amazing. And the spinach helps to offset the creaminess so you can actually tell yourself you're eating something with nutrients in it. (Although that was the only part my husband didn't like....)

Enjoy!