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| Potato Gnocchi |
Potato Gnocchi
Here's another winter warmer! Gnocchi! I served mine with Braised Beef Cheeks which I posted previously.
A lot of people wouldn't attempt gnocchi for fear of failure, they can be quite tricky! I will give you some tips to make sure your gnocchi's always come out soft and pillowy.
Work quickly:
Once you have boiled and strained your potatoes, mash them and pass them through a sieve to remove any lumps. You need to do this relatively quickly as gnocchi tends to work better if you are at the mixing stage while its still a little bit warm (aim for body temperature), this ensures that the gnocchi doesn't over-absorb the flour (when its hot) or under-absorb (is that a word?) the flour (if its cold).
Don't overmix:
Once you have mashed your potatoes, add the flour all at once and mix through (use gloves if the mix is still hot), you only want to incorporate the flour until its just smooth, has come together and is no longer sticky. DO NOT KNEAD your gnocchi because this will stretch the gluten in the flour and make for a chewy gnocchi
Mise en place:
Once you've strained your potatoes, before you start mashing, put another pot of water onto boil so you can cook the gnocchi as you roll and shape them, get all your equipment ready before you mash- flour, a knife or sharp spatula for cutting the lengths of gnocchi, your fork for shaping the gnocchi. Also have a bowl of ice water ready to transfer your cooked gnocchi to so they don't overcook.
Tester:
Before going ahead and rolling all your gnocchi, cut off a small amount of gnocchi dough (about the same size as your gnocchi's will be) and pop it in the boiling water until it floats, fish it out and taste it to ensure the dough is the right consistency when cooked. Add more flour to your dough if necessary.
You will encounter hundreds of different gnocchi recipes... I'm very much a purist when it comes to Italian food and I believe gnocchi should only have 3 ingredients- potatoes, plain flour and salt. If you've made a recipe with egg yolk before and it turned out then great, but that's not how I do it.
You will need.... (4 small serves, 2 large serves)
5 medium (400gr) desiree potatoes, peeled and cut into equal-sized chunks
150gr (1 cup) of plain flour
1 generous pinch of salt
extra flour for rolling
Method...
1. Place the potatoes in a pot and just cover with cold, salted water. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Remove lid and leave to boil until potatoes are just tender. Don't leave the potatoes on until they are falling apart because they will absorb the water and make your gnocchi doughy.
2. Strain your potatoes and leave to steam for 30 seconds to make sure there is no residual liquid, meanwhile put another pot of salted water on to boil, and prepare your rolling station with flour, a knife, fork and prepare a bowl of ice water for the gnocchi's once they're cooked.
3. Mash the potatoes until you can't see any visible lumps, then pass through a fine sieve to ensure a smooth mix.
4. Add plain flour and a small pinch of salt to the gnocchi and work quickly to form a ball. You may need to add more flour depending on the potatoes you used and if they absorbed any liquid, as a rule of thumb, the dough is ready when it is smooth and doesn't stick to your hands.
5. Take about a teaspoon-worth of dough and drop it in the water you set to boil at step 2, once the little ball floats to the top, remove it with a slotted spoon and taste to test the consistency. The gnocchi should be a little bit resistant to the bite, but not doughy or chewy.
6. To shape your gnocchi's, portion the dough into 4 sections, flour the bench and roll each section to just under 1 inch even thickness, then use a knife to cut to about 1 inch long pieces. Flour a fork, and roll each gnocchi along the top of the fork applying a small amount of pressure*
7. Carefully pick the gnocchi's up off the bench and drop into the boiling pot of water. Once the gnocchi's float to the top they are cooked, use the slotted spoon to carefully remove and place into the ice water. Repeat the process with the other sections of dough.
8. Once the gnocchi's are all cooked, they can be strained and then quickly reheated in your desired sauce, or coated in vegetable oil to prevent them from sticking together and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They can also be frozen in a container lined with greaseproof paper, but this does affect the consistency slightly.
The purpose of doing this is to create a little well with your thumb and small ridges on the other side created by the fork to help the sauce cling to the gnocchi's.
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