I would like to apologize in advance for the setup of this post. I put the pictures into Blogger in the wrong order and when I went to move them they got all messed up. So ... sorry.
Bryson made potato gnocchi for us last night and it was delicious! The recipe comes from the cookbook he and the kids got me for Mother's Day last year, The Silver Spoon for Children. Because this is a children's cookbook, some of the steps have you asking for help with hot things. I'll omit that here since I assume you guys can handle it.
Potato Gnocchi
Serves about 4 people
Ingredients:
2 1/4 pounds potatoes
1 extra-large egg
scant 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the potatoes.
2. Cut each potato in half. Then rest the halves cut side down on a board before you cut them in quarters. Put the potatoes in a colander.
3. Half-fill a pan with water and put the colander on top. Cover with a lid, bring up to a boil, and steam the potatoes for 20 minutes. Cooked like this, the potatoes don't absorb too much water -- you want them to be quite dry to make the gnocchi.
4. Test to see if they are cooked by poking a fork or skewer into the potato -- the utensil should glide in easily.
5. Put the potatoes into a bowl and using a potato masher or a ricer, mash until smooth. Let cool.
6. Crack the egg into a bowl. Add the flour and egg to the cooled mashed potato and mix with a wooden spoon. Then put your hands into the bowl and mix to make a dough.
7. Sprinkle some flour over your counter, and put the dough onto the flour. Shape the dough into a big square. It should be about 1/2 inch thick. Using a table knife, cut the square in half. Cut each half of the dough into thin strips -- about 1/2 inch wide.
8. Roll each strip into a long thin sausage shape with your hands. Then cut them into small pieces about 1/2 inch long, so you end up with lots of small cylindrical pieces. It doesn't matter if the pieces of dough are slightly different shapes, but you do want them to be quite even in size so that they take the same amount of time to cook.
9. In Italy, gnocchi traditionally has a pattern on it. You can make this pattern by pushing the gnocchi against a grater or the tines of a fork, but you don't have to. (Bryson didn't.) Sprinkle some flour over a big plate or baking tray and put the gnocchi on the flour.
10. Heat a serving dish in a low oven so you can keep your gnocchi warm when they are cooked. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add about 8 pieces of gnocchi, and wait for the gnocchi to rise to the surface of the water. They are cooked when they come to the top --- this will only take about 1 minute.
11. Using a slotted spoon lift the gnocchi out of the pan and put into your warm serving dish. Cook the rest of the gnocchi. Ladle your sauce on top, and it's ready to eat!
Bryson made potato gnocchi for us last night and it was delicious! The recipe comes from the cookbook he and the kids got me for Mother's Day last year, The Silver Spoon for Children. Because this is a children's cookbook, some of the steps have you asking for help with hot things. I'll omit that here since I assume you guys can handle it.
Potato Gnocchi
Serves about 4 people
Ingredients:
2 1/4 pounds potatoes
1 extra-large egg
scant 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the potatoes.
2. Cut each potato in half. Then rest the halves cut side down on a board before you cut them in quarters. Put the potatoes in a colander.
3. Half-fill a pan with water and put the colander on top. Cover with a lid, bring up to a boil, and steam the potatoes for 20 minutes. Cooked like this, the potatoes don't absorb too much water -- you want them to be quite dry to make the gnocchi.
4. Test to see if they are cooked by poking a fork or skewer into the potato -- the utensil should glide in easily.
5. Put the potatoes into a bowl and using a potato masher or a ricer, mash until smooth. Let cool.
6. Crack the egg into a bowl. Add the flour and egg to the cooled mashed potato and mix with a wooden spoon. Then put your hands into the bowl and mix to make a dough.
7. Sprinkle some flour over your counter, and put the dough onto the flour. Shape the dough into a big square. It should be about 1/2 inch thick. Using a table knife, cut the square in half. Cut each half of the dough into thin strips -- about 1/2 inch wide.
8. Roll each strip into a long thin sausage shape with your hands. Then cut them into small pieces about 1/2 inch long, so you end up with lots of small cylindrical pieces. It doesn't matter if the pieces of dough are slightly different shapes, but you do want them to be quite even in size so that they take the same amount of time to cook.
9. In Italy, gnocchi traditionally has a pattern on it. You can make this pattern by pushing the gnocchi against a grater or the tines of a fork, but you don't have to. (Bryson didn't.) Sprinkle some flour over a big plate or baking tray and put the gnocchi on the flour.
10. Heat a serving dish in a low oven so you can keep your gnocchi warm when they are cooked. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add about 8 pieces of gnocchi, and wait for the gnocchi to rise to the surface of the water. They are cooked when they come to the top --- this will only take about 1 minute.
11. Using a slotted spoon lift the gnocchi out of the pan and put into your warm serving dish. Cook the rest of the gnocchi. Ladle your sauce on top, and it's ready to eat!
Here's my husband, hard at work.
And the finished product, with sauce!
It was absolutely delicious! I have never had gnocchi before, but I sooooo want to have it again very soon! It was pillowy, potatoey goodness, I tell you!
I will also tell you that though it was quite labor-intensive, made a huge mess, and made way too much for our little family, it was totally worth it! Also, though it was labor-intensive, the steps themselves were very easy; this was not a difficult recipe to follow. It just took a little time.
And, though dinner was a little later than usual, we all had a good time. Even my cook husband who was exceedingly critical of his efforts.
Mollie definitely wanted to try some of the pasta, but I don't think she was quite ready for it.
Baylor, on the other hand, initially balked at the new food but ended up LOVING it!
Mollie's got sass when drinking from her cup, doesn't she?
These pictures were supposed to be up by the recipe, but Blogger is being difficult and I'm a little too tired to fiddle with it. Needless to say, we enjoyed the gnocchi. I hope you do, too!
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