Gnocchi

Today, I'm making gnocchi!  A bit intimidating at first, but really not hard once you get the hang of it.  It is a little bit time consuming, so it's a good weekend meal. Since I have all day to cook here, while I work on the cleaning project, I thought I would take advantage of the time.  It's nice to start these early, and give each step in the process lots of time, but you can also get this done in a couple of hours with no pauses.  Mom and dad usually eat these with just butter and sage, but I think I'll make a cognac cream sauce with peas tonight.  Trying to get those veggies in where I can!

Gnocchi

3-4 large potatoes 

1 large egg, lightly beaten 

1 tsp kosher salt 

¼ tsp pepper (use white pepper if you don’t want the black specks to show) 

1 ½ to 2 cups all purpose flour 

• Fill a large pot with cold water. Add whole unpeeled potatoes and bring to boil. Cook till tender. Drain and cool till you can handle, and then peel. Put through a food mill or ricer, spread out on a board and allow to cool completely. 

Potatoes cooling

• Once potatoes are cooled, form a mound and make a well in the center. Put egg, salt and pepper into center of the well and stir into the potatoes. 

Mixing the egg into the potatoes

• Once combined, add flour about ¼ cup at a time until you have a nice dough (it will still be a little sticky, which is ok because more flour will be incorporated as you roll them out). Knead for about 3 minutes. Do not overwork or add too much flour or the dough will become heavy. 

After the dough has been kneaded

• Cut dough into about 8 sections and on a well floured surface, roll each one out into a ½” thick log and slice into ½” sections. Roll each little section onto the tines of a fork dusted with flour, making an indentation with your thumb as you roll. Spread gnocchi out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment of wax paper that has been sprinkled with a little flour. At this point, gnocchi can be frozen on the cookie sheet and then transferred to a freezer bag once frozen. 

Rolling onto the fork

mid-roll

• If you are cooking the gnocchi right away, bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add a good amount of salt, as if you were cooking pasta. While the water comes to a boil, make sauce (see next page). Drop about ½ of the gnocchi in and stir immediately to make sure they don’t stick. After about 2-3 minutes, they will begin to rise to the surface. Cook for about 1 more minute after this happens, then fish them out with a spider or a large slotted spoon. Put on a plate with a little butter and cover to keep warm while you cook the 2nd half.

Cognac-Cream Sauce with Peas

2-3 shallots, finely chopped 

1 clove garlic, minced 

2 tbsp butter 

1/4 cup cognac 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

1 cup frozen peas 

Salt & pepper to taste 

• Melt butter in a large skillet, add shallots and garlic and sauté till soft, 2-3 minutes. 
• Add cognac and reduce. Add cream, salt and pepper and let it come to a simmer. Cook very gently for about 5 minutes. (put the gnocchi in the boiling water once you reach this stage) Add the peas and heat through for about a minute. Turn off heat. Once the gnocchi are ready, fish out of water with a spider and put into the sauce. Toss very gently. Serve with parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top. 

Simmering sauce