Ever since I first saw pictures of Gnocchi, I have wanted to make them. They look like little pasta dumplings and look so cute & adorable. The ones with imprints look so artisanal and Italian. I wondered if they would be firm or soft, and today I answered that question. They are soft and malleable, but it depends on the potato to flour ratio.
I would have liked them to be a little more chewy. My mom tried them and said they were great as they were and don't change the recipe. She said that if I wanted them firmer, add more flour, but they are fine this way too. The ratio of potato and flour can be played around with I guess. I think potato is healthier than flour anyway, so my current recipe uses more potato than flour. Potato is a natural food, and it's always better to stick to whole foods.
It was a really fun and easy recipe to make. If you are stressed out, you can squish the potato dough in your hands. Quite therapeutic. Also, I didn't make the imprints, but I figure that would be therepeutic too. I didn't have a potato presser device so I used a potato masher to mash the potatoes. I was worried about the lumps of potato that were in the dough, but upon cooking, they worked themselves out and were not noticeable.
I made them with a creamy tomato sauce, my own improvised recipe. I didn't have many herbs on hand so I used basil. Some creamy Gnocchi recipes use sage but I didn't have it on hand. The parmesan cheese gives it that sharp bite, great to add... the more the better.
I like pasta dishes, so I enjoyed making and eating this dish. Below is the recipe.
For the Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 3 small potatoes or 2 large ones
- 1 and a half cups plain flour, plus some more for dusting
- 1/2 tsp salt
Method
- Peel potatoes and dice them. Boil them in water until soft. Alternatively, microwave them for faster results. (I boiled them, but halfway through realised microwaving them is so much faster).
- Mash potatoes finely. If you have a potato presser, use this to produce fine strings of potato.
- Mix the flour with the salt.
- Make a well in the flour and add the potatoes. Work these into a ball of dough.
4. Split the dough into 4 lumps. Take each lump and roll it into a long sausage. Cut them up into 2cm chunks. If it gets sticky, dust some more flour on the surface.
5. To cook them, boil them in salted water until they start to float. Then dish them out using a slotted spoon and set aside for cooking.
Creamy Tomato Gnocchi
Ingredients
- Gnocchi from above recipe
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1/3 cup whipping cream or cooking cream
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- salt to taste
- handfull of basil leaves
- 2-3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
Method
- Heat olive oil in a pan. Add garlic and fry until fragrant.
- Add in gnocchi and stir fry.
- Add in cream, chicken broth, kethcup and salt. Stir to combine.
- Lastly, add in parmesan and basil leaves. Stir to combine.
- Dish out and serve immediately.
- Top with additional parmesan. (optional)
I ate them with side dishes of broccoli and sliced pork. It is good to pair it with a dish of greens and a protein. The pork my mom made was delicious. The broccoli was stir fried. But it's ok to just eat this dish as a main. The sauce has protein from the cream, and there is fibre, protein and vitamins in the potatoes.
Thanks for reading!Labels: dinner, home cooking, meals, pasta, recipe
