Gnocchi

Gnocchi with vegetables 

Gnocchi

Pronounced (Nyoh-kee) say it as you see it!
These are Italy's most popular pasta, even though as Americans we know them as a dumpling, these are soft, light pillows of combination of the red skinned potato's because of the starch in them. You can use a more firmer white potato. You can make them with sweet potatoes, purple potatoes any type of pumpkin or squash family. I mix mine with both red skinned potato, purple potato you are kneading them i like them firmer gnocchi, by kneading go for more flour, if you are looking for a more softer gnocchi use less flour. 

Purple potato gnocchi 

 You can mix in a puree of spinach or chard, kale, carrots, or beets. You can get some great colours if you are making a simple sauce like a butter with Bay leaf and just parmigiano or pecorino, the simple potato gnocchi likes a simple sugo or ground meat, or chicken. 
They are also good in the oven with some mozzarella or scamorza!


My love for these gnocchi come from my Grandma and a memory of My dear Uncle Aldo, Grandma would call up everyone in the clan and he would say  Sunday dinner Gnocchi everyone but Uncle Aldo he would say "mom gonna come Monday" he loved them the next day reheated because they would absorb the sauce he loved them!
When we would make these gnocchi as a little girl, grandma and mom would make big big batch for Sunday dinners but "dogi" bags where taken home to eat the next day for sure, picture of us around a large basement table and the ladies rolling the dough and grandpa and Aunt Elsa where in charge of the "fork rolling" grandpa was fast! What memories i will cherish them always !


Ingredients : 

4 medium potato ( its a medium 3-4"potato per person)
1 egg ( but not necessary)optional
4 cups of Flour (the flour it picks up meaning about 1 cup per potato, you will have some left)

When using squash, pumpkin, spinach or leaf vegetable use 1 cup and have it drain well and pureed.
This replaces the egg , and you will need a little more flour

Step 1 with your potato rice masher place them right into the well you have made

Step 2 knead making a soft but firm dough, do not use allot of flour keep it clean use a little as you make a roll (see other picture below) you might not be able to row them good with to much flour, set the extra aside so you can place your cut gnocchi into them before rolling on the gnocchi board.

Step 3 cut them into small or about an 1" cuts, roll them over into a flour bed and you can start your rolling marks with a gnocchi board as per picture or a fork
Replace them onto a floured or mixture of semolina flour and spread them out so not to touch each other , your then place there carefully into slated boiling water,  

(PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU ARE LOWERING THEM INTO THE HOT BOILING WATER THEY ARE HEAVY AND WILL SPATTER SO DO THIS STEP SLOWLY,)
As they cook they will come to the top of the pot, i would say less them 8 min and they are ready to be drained and topped with your sauce or a savoury sauce with butter and sage or heavy cream with Parmesan ! or a great bolognese sauce.
Also they can be placed in a small individual Pyrex bowl that you have added mozzarella to the gnocchi topped with Parmesan insert in oven for 10 min and enjoy this way.

These where made with a purple potato 

                              Step 1                                                Step 2                                              Step 3

These are a few types of potato rice presses 

available at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond,Walmart 

Gnocchi Wooden Board, on line on Amazon, or a kitchen gadget store 

Following are more great pictures of different gnocchi we have made!

With the procedures in picture order. 

First step boil potato and then peel while warm, place your flour and make a well I use the measuring cup 

To your  potato ricer drop the peeled potato, if  you are adding an egg now is the time make sure your  are potato's lukewarm , mix the dough and keep feeling when it is soft pull away your extra flour and knead a few minutes on a lightly floured surface, the more flour it picks the gnocchi will be more dense. 

These two picture are showing you a spinach or kale giving you a green gnocchi the second pictures is with pumpkin, or a yellow squash giving you a orange looking gnocchi 

Roll into a log about 1/2 inch diameter, the second picture shows the different sizes petite, big and medium. The small ones can be left like that and used in gnocchi genovese (a minced ground meat with sugo), the third picture shows the ribbing with the wooden gnocchi press you can get similar lines you can get with a fork 

These gnocchi are ready to be cooked or placed in the freezer till frozen and place in bags to use at a later date.

When I make them with spinach they turn a green and are delicious, the pumpkin makes them orange looking,

There are allot of recipes out there but this is a traditional way