Monday, April 16, 2007

I made Gnocchi?

Couple days ago I had a "I must try to make this dish" moment. A strong inkling for me usually means revamping a favorite recipe or trying something new. This time it was the latter. I read blogs, cookbooks, websites about gnocchi but never tried making it. With the precise steps and very few ingredients, the thought of making it was terrifying. On several occasions I thought, if I make a mistake, there's no turning back and I couldn't just add ingredients to cover up the mess. It was scary. I was intimidated to make gnocchi at home. However I knew I had a large bowl full of left over mashed potatoes. I made mashed potatoes to go with scallops and caramelized onions. That dish was good but not a favorite. Since gnocchi consists of boiled or baked potatoes, mashed, I found this and this recipe. As nervous as I was, I convinced myself to make it for dinner. And that is how gnocchi with sage butter emerged in our house for the first time.

Gnocchi

1 1/2 cups left over mashed potatoes
1/2 - 3/4 cups Flour, divided
1 Egg
pinch of salt

Sauce:
3 tablespoons Butter
10 sage leaves
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
ground white pepper

Put the mashed potatoes through a sieve. From my research the best product for this is a potato ricer but since I don't plan on investing in one, sieve with bigger net holes works fine. Don't use a fine sieve, because the potatoes won't pass. Dust countertop with some flour and spread potatoes on the counter top. Make a well in the potatoes. Then add 1 egg, 1/2 cup of flour and salt. Knead the dough. Add additional flour to the dough or countertop, if necessary. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Divide the ball of dough in quarters.

Lightly flour hands and counter. Take each quarter and roll out with hands to make a rope. The rope should be 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut the ropes in 1/2- 3/4 inch pieces. Using a fork and your thumb, gently press each piece into the back of the fork with your thumb. It will have fork marks on one side and slight indentation on the other. As the pieces are formed, lay them on a dusted or parchment papered cookie sheet.

I froze half of mine for another special night. I smell tomato and basil sauce in the air...

To cook the gnocchi bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt to the water when it comes to a bubble. Then add some gnocchi to the boiling water. (Do not over crowd or they will stick to each other or the bottom of the pot). As they rise to the top, remove with a slotted spoon. Repeat until all are cooked.

To make the sauce; melt butter on medium heat in a medium saute pan. When it bubbles, add sage and let it cook and crisp for 1 minute. Add cooked gnocchi to the pan. Cook the gnocchi with the sauce for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes on each side. This will brown the gnocchi. Serve hot.



Thanks to epicurious, Elise and few other googled recipes, I made gnocchi for the first time with great success! Though intimidating at first it's really simple and worth the time and effort. I'll definitely add it to my repertoire.



Because of the great flavor combination of sage and butter for the sauce, this is my contribution to the Weekend Herb Blogging cooking event hosted by Sher at What did you eat.

Weekend Herb Blogging was invented by Kalyn to increase herb usage in the our daily cooking. It has been a huge success because bloggers all around the world contribute to the event.

8 comments:

Katie said...

Your gnocci looks perfect!
I've never tried making it at home but you've inspired me - simple and worth the time....okay, I'll try it.
Plus, I absolutely love sage and butter sauce.
And the tomato-basil sounds pretty good, as well - I hope they freeze well!

sher said...

Oh no you didn't!!! :) I was looking at gnocchi recipes yesterday, trying to psych myself up to doing it. And sage is the perfect way to season it. I bow to you!!!

Erin B said...

Oooh, I can see the pictures now! Very nice. I'd like to try making gnocchi again sometime soon.

Charise said...

Gnocchi is one of those things I've been scare to try, too ... but you make it seem so easy! I may have to make an attempt as well!

liberal foodie said...

Katie- It is totally worth the time. I loved making gnocchi... I made the tomato basil not long after the first night so I didn't have to freeze them. Pictures and post about that coming soon... Good luck!

Sher- Yes, I did. :) If you try to make it, I want to know all about your experience.

Erin- we could do it together, just a thought. ;)

Charise- I just had to do it. It was one of those things, if I didn't do it that day; it would have taken me another 6 months to get the courage to try. Good luck.

Helene said...

Thanks for the step by step recipe. I didn´t try yet, but now with your recipe, it´s a must. So I´m in the kitchen to cook potatoes - to get left-over ones. And I link to your recipe!! :)

Kalyn Denny said...

Good for you! It sounds like you were very successful. I love sage, so the idea of sage with butter is a wonderful combination!

liberal foodie said...

Helena- good luck. It's worth every bite. Enjoy it if you follow the recipe.

Kalyn- I am a picky sage lover. I only like it with certain dishes and for this it's a definite keeper.