Gnocchi anyone?
First, let me say, I’ve got nothing against ovens, it’s just that mine no longer works thanks to the appliance demon in my house that keeps breaking my shit. Let’s just say…the wiring behind the convection fan went up in flames. Need I say more? But even without the tainted appliance, I managed to make a great meal.
Pan-seared Butterfly pork chops (finished on the grill), Baked split chicken breasts (baked on the grill in tin foil), gnocchi with a creamy garlic and cheese sauce, and a side of romaine and radicchio salad (because I was too tired to do a proper vegetable — don’t judge me).
So…on to the gnocchi. I’ve been watching gnocchi made on Top Chef, Challenge, Chopped, and so many other food shows that I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but I’ve never made it myself, so tonight I braved the ricer and I have to say it turned out pretty darn good. I took pictures to document my progress.
Here’s the gnocchi recipe.
Ingredients:
2 lbs of baking potatoes
1 cup of flour
2 egg yolks (beaten)
A pinch of salt
Instructions:
Bake 2 lbs of potatoes (I used a scale to weigh them) and since my oven’s in need of an exorcism, I cooked them in the microwave for 10 minutes. Then sliced them open to vent moisture as they cooled. The drier the potato, the better people.
Next: After the potatoes have cooled completely, scoop the potatoes from their skin and rice them into a large mixing bowl.
Next: Add 1 cup of flour, a pinch of salt, and two egg yolks (beaten) to the riced potatoes.
Next: Hand mix dough until it forms a ball you can work with. (Sort of feels like soft play-doh).
Next: Roll gnocchi dough out on a lightly floured surface.
Next: Cut it into 1 inch segments.
Next: Lay it out on parchment or wax paper and press the centers.
Next (Save this step until your proteins are just about finished): Drop gnocchi (five or six at a time only) into rapidly boiling water. It will sink to the bottom. As soon as it floats to the top (it doesn’t take long!) use a strainer scooper to take them out and put them in a warm dish.
I didn’t actually get a picture of them in the warming dish, but no worries. They turned out great looking. (see the top picture)
Next is the two cheese cream sauce I made for the gnocchi:
Ingredients
4 tbs of butter
1/4 cup of flour
1/4 cup of grated Asiago cheese
1/4 cup of grated Romano cheese
1/2 tbs of minced garlic
1/2 cup (maybe a bit more) of half-n-half.
A couple of dashes of coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
First make a rue by combining butter and flour in a sauce pan over low heat.
Next: Stir until the flour is thoroughly mixed with the melted butter.
Next: Add cheeses, garlic, and black pepper to rue mixture. Increase heat to medium. Stir constantly as you add the half-n-half slowly. Mixture will thicken as it heats up. I like to use a whisk to stir, because it tends to keep the sauce from clumping. Once it’s thick, remove from heat and serve over the gnocchi.
(If mixture is too thick, add more half-n-half and stir the shit out of it. LOL. It should be fine though.)
It’s tasty good! My husband and child, who were both skeptical of gnocchi since they’ve never had it, loved it. So, really great, considering they are picky-damn eaters!
(I actually documented the chicken and chops as well, but the post would be way long if I put it all in there, so I’ll do those recipes another time.)
Hugs,
Renee
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