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

Wednesday - Stuffed pork tenderloin with mashed sweet and yukon gold potatoes

While at Whole Foods on Tuesday, I also picked up a nice pork tenderloin.  The meat counter at the WF here was looking better than I remembered.  While I'm still very sad at the state of the produce here (yes, spoiled California child), It was nice to find good meat.  This is another one of those dishes that I make a lot, fairly easy to do, parts can be done ahead, and its very pretty on the plate.  Father says he doesn't like pork tenderloin, but then he always likes it when I make it this way.  For the sides, I made mashed yukon gold potatoes for Father, and mashed sweet potatoes for mom, since Father doesn't like sweets... and mom never gets to eat them otherwise.  I like both, so I had a combination (as pictured).  I forgot to take photos while I was making it.  Maybe I can dig some up from my cooking class.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Yukon Golds

For the pork:

1 leek, rinsed and chopped

1 zucchini, small dice

1 red pepper, small dice

¼ lb fontina cheese, small dice (that's my normal recipe - I only had Comte, so used that instead)

1/8 lb pancetta, diced (didn't have pancetta, so I used prosciutto)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp chopped rosemary

1 pork tenderloin

3 tbsp olive oil

¼ cup marsala

¼ cup chicken stock

2 tbsp cold butter

• Preheat oven to 500 (485 convection).
• Saute the vegetables in some olive oil.  Remove to bowl.  In same pan, sauté pancetta till rendered, then add to veggies.  Combine with fontina, garlic, 1/2 of the rosemary, salt & pepper. This can be done ahead, and then stuff the pork when ready to cook.
• Make an opening in center of the short end of the tenderloin with a boning knife and/or sharpening steel.  If using a knife, be careful that you don't cut through the sides of the tenderloin.  I usually use a knife to start, and then use the steel to get all the way through.  Then I use my fingers to make sure the hole is big enough to accomodate the stuffing.  Stuff with veggie mixture and close ends with toothpicks.  This part can be a little tricky and messy.  Make sure to get the stuffing all the way to the center.  You can stuff from both ends.  Take your time - patience is the key with this step.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in ovenproof pan (not nonstick) and brown pork on all sides.
• Put in oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, until a thermometer reads 145.
• Remove pork and tent with foil.
• Add marsala to pan to deglaze, reduce for a few minutes.  Add stock and reduce for about 5 minutes.  Swirl in butter.
• Slice pork and drizzle sauce over.
• Serve with mashed potatoes.

For the potatoes:

3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (or 2 sweet potatoes)

salt

2 tbsp butter

• Peel the potatoes, and cut into similar size pieces, about 2" diameter
• Put in a pot of cold water.  If doing both sweet and regular, use 2 separate pots.
• Add plenty of salt - the water should be salted the same as pasta - it should taste like the sea.
• Bring to a boil, then cook for about 15 minutes, until fork tender (fork, not knife).
• Drain into a colander, then put through a food mill back into the pan.  Alternately, if you don't have a food mill, you can use a masher, but a food mill will give you a nice, fluffy, even texture.
• Add butter, stir, and taste for seasoning.

Tuesday - Salmon with French Green Lentils and Herb Butter

Tuesday I finally went to the store for a real shopping trip.  I had been here a week, and had managed quite easily to make meals out of what was already on hand.  Mom wanted to make Sole Meuniere, but the fish store, where I probably would have found sole, was in the opposite direction of Whole Foods, and I was feeling a little lazy.  So, Whole Foods won out - Creg will be happy about that! They did have some nice looking wild salmon, so with fish on my mind, I bought it. This is a dish that I've made often, and did once in my cooking class.  It is very easy, but also very elegant, and I've done it for dinner parties before.  You can start early and prepare the lentils ahead, and just keep them warm, or re-heat when it's time to serve.  You can also make the herb butter ahead and keep it in the fridge for a day or two, or freeze for even longer.  I like to add some swiss chard to the lentils, not only for a yummy contrast, but to sneak in greens for people who don't normally eat a lot of them (like my father).  This is for 3 people, but can be easily adjusted for more.  The amount of lentils will really feed 4 - I had leftovers for lunch the next day!

Salmon with French Green Lentils and Herb Butter

1 cup French green lentils 

4 cups water 

1 leek, rinsed well and chopped (white and pale green part only) 

1 onion, chopped 

1 rib celery, chopped 

1 bunch swiss chard (any color) 

4 tbsp butter 

1 tbsp lemon juice 

3 5-ounce skinless salmon filets 

Salt 

Pepper 

Herb butter (5 tbsp room temperature butter mixed with 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme) 

• Put lentils, water and 1 tsp salt in a large pot and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 30-35 minutes, till lentils are tender. Remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes, then drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. 
• Meanwhile, sauté leeks, onions and celery in about 2 tbsp butter with a bit of salt till soft, but not browned, 8-10 minutes. 
• Remove ribs from Swiss chard, wash, chop, and add to leeks. Cook till chard is wilted down and softened, about 2-3 minutes. 
• Add lentils to leeks and chard. Stir in 2 tbsp herb butter, lemon juice, salt & pepper, and some of the reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time until it reaches desired consistency (not too runny, but not dry). Heat through, then remove from heat and cover to keep warm. 
• Pat salmon dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp butter with a bit of olive oil (so the butter doesn't burn) in a large non-stick skillet over medium high.  Having a very hot pan will ensure you get a nice sear on the fish. Sauté salmon until golden and medium rare, about 4 minutes on first side, 3 on second side. 
• Serve salmon over lentils and top each piece with a little herb butter.