Gnocchi are a favorite pasta choice both in America and in Italy, who can resist those soft potato pillows of dough? Basically Gnocchi are potato dumplings that originated in Northern Italy where the conditions are better for growing potatoes than wheat. That explains why I love them so much, they are from my Region!
My earliest memories of watching my grandmother cook was her making Gnocchi. What child can resist watching a grown up rolling a “snake” with dough? It is exactly like playing with playdough! Then I watched with delight as she rolled each section of gnocchi across the back of a fork, it was the sheer joy of watching an adult enter into the playful world of childhood.
Recently I told a friend of mine here in Italy that I was going to make Gnocchi. She said “Oh, I loved making Gnocchi with my Nona…or maybe I just liked rolling the dough across the back of a fork…” See! I told you! No child can resist making Gnocchi with a parent or grandparent and no adult can resist eating Gnocchi!
But do yourself a favor and learn to pronounce this pasta correctly! There is nothing more embarrassing than pronouncing the “G” in Gnocchi, it is silent! It should sound like “Nyo-kee”!
Prepare the sauce when you are cooking the potatoes and set it aside. Heat it up when you put the gnocchi into the pot to boil. Spoon the Gnocchi into the sauce and stir. Serve and top with crumbled bacon.
Gnocchi (feeds 4)
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds yellow or red potatoes (about 7 medium size)
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructioms:
- Cook whole potatoes in boiling water until tender (about 35 minutes)
- Meanwhile make your sauce (Sorrentino, Pesto, Four Cheese, Spinach Cream…)
- make a flour “volcano” by heaping the flour on your cooking surface, add salt
- “Rice” the cooked and cooled potatoes or use a fork to crumble it
- add it to the flour pile and crack the egg
- start to whisk the egg into the flour potato pile until it is incorporated enough to start to knead it,, knead until a sold ball forms
- Cut the ball into four pieces
- Take a piece and start rolling it like a snake
- If it gets too long (more than 6 “), cut it in half and keep rolling until it is the width of your ring finger
- cut the “snake” into sections 3/4” long
- roll each “dumpling” across the back tongs of a fork to create ridges
- start a large pot of water boiling to cook the gnocchi, add 2 teaspoons of salt
- Continue rolling out the rest of the Gnocchi in the same way
- Once the pasta has all been rolled out, add to the boiling pot of water, cook until the Gnocchi float to the top
Spinach Cream Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Butter or bacon fat
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1 cup cream
- 4 Tablespoons Stracchino cheese or cream cheese
- 1/4 cup of white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup cooked chopped spinach
- 4 strips of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
Instructions:
- Melt the butter or bacon fat and cook the minced garlic until fragrant but not browned.
- Add the cream and salt to the butter, whisking to combine and bring to a gentle bubble
- Add the white wine and allow to cook a few minutes at a gentle bubble to allow the alcohol to evaporate
- Add the grated Parmesan, stirring
- Add the cream cheese and stir together.
- Squeeze all of the moisture from the spinach and add to the cream sauce
- When the sauce is fully incorporated together add the Gnocchi and serve topped with crispy bacon crumbles.
