Made my own gnocchi on the weekend with a River Cafe recipe:
Recipe:
Serves 6
1kg floury potatoes
Salt and pepper
2 large eggs
150g plain flour
100g semolina
Boil the potatoes in their skins in salted water. Drain and peel while hot.
Put the potatoes through a mouli or mash. Lightly fold in the eggs, flour semolina and salt and work together to form a dough.
Divide the dough in to four, and roll each piece in to a sausage shape a little fatter than your index finger. Cut in to 2cm pieces. Roll each small piece over the back of a fork.
Cook in boiling salted water until they rise to the surface
My notes on the recipe:
I used pasta flour instead of semolina.
I made half this recipe (one egg) and it did 4 servings - I find gnocchi quite filling.
I put half the dough in the fridge (as a 'lump') and the texture had somehow changed by the next evening - it had got softer. I kneaded in a little flour and rolled and shaped them and they were still good, although not quite as nice as the first night.
I cooked them in two batches and just left the first batch drained in a bowl. They seemed to hold their heat for the few minutes it took to do the next batch.
I served them with some tomato and yellow pepper sauce and loads of parmesean and they were delish.
Hey there Moggle,
Glad to see that someone else had given gnocchi a go - and even nicer to see that it can actually work! I've followed a couple of recipes for gnocchi, one with potato and another using semolina, and neither exactly inspired me to make it again. I do love gnocchi and wish I could make it as good as the local Italian restaurant... I think I'll give you River Cafe recipe a go next week - did you let the potatoes dry off before mashing? I found when I did it the "dough" (more like mush in my case!) was quite wet and also when I cooked them, it was like they hadn't had enough time to cook out the flour and I could taste it still. :-\
This recipe really appeals, never though about making gnocchi myself, it sounds a good substantial vegetarian dish - wonder if it would freeze successfully?
Sally, yes, you dry off the potatoes first (or drain them really thoroughly)
Jenny, believe they freeze OK...save some back when you make it and try?
I really don't like gnocchi...something to do with the texture when you start eating them :( - but OH used to love them & I made them reasonably frequently - dead easy, they were......remember a sauce using chicken livers....could try to dig it out of anyone's interested.
btw..Aldi sell packs of shrink-wrapped gnocchi - really cheaply. They're OK too (with, always, the proviso that you really do like gnocchi) ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: sally_cinnamon on April 30, 2006, 23:22:16
I think I'll give you River Cafe recipe a go next week - did you let the potatoes dry off before mashing? I found when I did it the "dough" (more like mush in my case!) was quite wet and also when I cooked them.
Hiya Sally. My dough was 'squidgier' than I would have thought when i first made it - like a squashy bread dough - but when they were cooked they were nice and light.
I'm sure if you freezed them flat on a tray they'd be fine.
I really like the sainsburys ones too, but we don't live near a sainsburys any more, and I'm generally just trying to get in to cooking more and cut out the amount of pre-made stuff we have. OH makes our pasta as well from scratch - papardelle usually.
More veggie sauce options would be pesto, alfredo, tomato and cream/marscapone, mushroom (if you like em, I don't!). I used to love them with tomato and bacon sauce, and they go nicely with bolognese too, although I find that combination a bit heavy.
i have also made some from an italian cook book - the first night we had them as gnocci with home made pesto - the second night i reheated them to eat with some sauce, and on the third night i fried them lightly and severed with a big dollop of ketchup as a lazy dish :D
they are filling, like you said, hence it took us three days to eat it all.
they very much reminded me of german 'kloesse' of a kind my grandmother makes from boiled potatos and the same ingredients - no surprises there then