gnocchi – Cooking through the seasons: the adventures of a San Diego Gastronaut.

Hi Blogosphere!

I am really excited about this next recipe! I have wanted to make homemade gnocchi for SO long. In fact, I made it one of my cooking goals for 2015. So now, half way through the year, I’ve done it! It actually wasn’t as difficult as I thought, and while they didn’t come out as pretty as I would have liked, they sure did taste good! I really hope you’ll try out this dish. I want to make dishes that are easy and approachable by the average person. Dishes that are fun, and adventurous, and just a little badass.

Here goes nothing!

Sweet Italian Sausage Ragu

INGREDIENTS

1/2 – 1 pound sweet Italian Sausage
1/2 cup diced green scallions
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 dozen cherry tomatoes
2 bunches of basil
2 leaves of kale
1 small fish pepper
1/2 cup red wine- chianti is preferable
dried oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, sugar – to taste

TOOLS

Food processor or blender
1 large skillet

Step One– in a medium sauce pan, add sausage, scallions, and olive oil – cook on medium heat until sausage is almost fully brown.

Step Two – in a food processor add tomatoes (washed and de-stemmed), kale (chopped), basil (leaves only), fish pepper (remove top and seeds), and all dry spices. Blend on medium until completely chopped and mixed.

Step Three– add tomato mixture to the sausage, add wine, and reduce heat to low/simmer. Allow the sauce to cook, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

** NOTE – careful when cutting and washing the fish pepper. If possible wear gloves. Wash hands thoroughly after touching it. Hot peppers can cause extreme pain if they get into your eyes or even on your skin. If you don’t want to risk it, substitute dried red pepper. **

While the sauce is cooking it’s time to start your gnocchi!

INGREDIENTS

3 large potatoes or 6 medium sized potatoes
rosemary – 1 small sprig
3 cups flour
1 egg – organic is preferable
1/2 teaspoon salt
parmesan cheese – to garnish

TOOLS

food processor or blender
potato ricer or cheese shredder
vegetable peeler
large stock pot

Step One- Boil potatoes: In a large pot with just enough water to cover them, boil potatoes with their skins on. The skin helps the potato not to absorb too much water. (Dry potatoes are good. Watery potatoes are bad.) Boil for about 20 minutes or until fork tender. Over-boiling will cause potatoes to become mushy and too wet.

** For a fun taste add a sprig of rosemary to the water. It won’t be an overwhelming taste in the dish, just a hint.

** Note – I also did a mixture of potatoes (see below in the photo) which does not affect the taste, but will give you a different colored gnocchi. This is entirely a stylistic choice and quite frankly was only made on my end because those are the potatoes I had on hand.

Step Two – Drain well: Remove potatoes and drain well. Allow them to cool in a colander or over cheesecloth.

Step Three – Peel potatoes: Peel boiled potatoes, removing any brown spots that might be below the skin.

Step Four – Rice potatoes: Using a potato ricer, rice peeled potatoes. If they appear watery at this point, allow them to rest on a dishtowel to absorb excess water.

** if you do not have a potato ricer, because really who has that?, use a cheese grater. I used the large holes on your standard cheese grater and it worked out just fine. See bottom right photo above.

Step Five- Blend potatoes: In your food processor or blender add all the potato shavings and any remaining pieces that did not shred. Pulse on medium for 90 seconds until all the potatoes are well shredded.

Step Six – Add the flour: Without removing the potatoes, add the flour and salt to the food processor. Pulse for another 90 seconds until well blended. Then add 1 egg and pulse again. The egg is used to bind the flour and the potatoes together and once you add the egg and pulse you’ll see the dough start to come together.

Top Left – Blended Potatoes Top Right – Flour Added.

Bottom Left – Flour and Potatoes Blended Bottom Right – Egg Added

Step Seven – Knead dough: Pull together ingredients and knead to form dough. Be careful not to over-knead. Be weary of adding flour at this point. Too much flour will give you hard gnocchi.

Step Eight- Shape dough: Shape dough into a long, wide rectangle for cutting.

Step Nine- Cut dough: Cut dough into 8-10 pieces, about 4 inches long.

** The secret to perfect gnocchi: Knead just enough for the dough to come together. Dough should have a loose airy texture, not gooey or dense. **

Step Ten- Roll into ropes: Roll each piece by gently pushing with fingers spread. The goal is to make an evenly-distributed rope. For shorter, heavier gnocchi, roll dough into thick ropes and cut into 1-inch pieces. For thinner gnocchi, roll longer ropes.

Step Eleven- Cut dough ropes: Using a pastry cutter or non-serrated knife, cut dough ropes into 1-inch pieces. Cut ends at an angle.

Step Twelve- Keep floured: To prevent sticking, keep gnocchi in a cool area. Toss them with extra flour while they are waiting to be cooked or frozen.

Step Thirteen – Ridges or indents: You can use a fork to create ridges or indent gently with your thumb.This process isn’t necessary, but adds to the asthetic of your final dish.

Step Fourteen – To cook: Gently shake away any excess flour and place finished gnocchi in a large pot of salted boiling water. Cook gnocchi until they float to the top, about 2-4 minutes. Gently remove them with a slotted spoon, drain very well. Toss them in a saucepan with your favorite sauce and cook together for about 2 minutes. Do not wait longer than 45 minutes to cook gnocchi or they will begin to stick to each other.