I love new challenges, and for me this was one of them. I have never eaten gnocchi. I know for a lover of all things Italian, this sounds strange but there is a story to this. When my mom was younger my gran made gnocchi for supper. My mother, not liking them, hid them under the Persian carpet, and took her plate through to the kitchen. When my gran came to clean the table, she stood on all of them! And so, my mom never made gnocchi, and we never ate them. Now, my mom has decided she likes them, and Dave had some while he was in East London. So Dave came home and suggested I make gnocchi for supper. Easier said than done – I had no clue what the end result should be like.
Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 2 large mashing potatoes
- 1 egg yolk beaten
- salt to season
- 250 mls 00 pasta flour
Method
to make gnocchi:
- peel and cut the potatoes into chunks
- steam until soft and leave to stand so that they are completely dry and cool when you work with them
- using a ricer mash the potatoes
- add the egg yolk and a generous pinch of salt and mix in
- add ¾ of the cup of flour and work in - you want to make a nice dough
- add the rest of the flour if needed
- roll the dough into sausage shapes
- cut into bite size portions and press down on each bite with a fork
- dust with flour
to cook:
- bring a large pot of water to the boil
- add a generous portion of salt to make the water seawater salty
- add the gnocchi and as soon as they come to the surface remove from the water
- they can now be fried in butter
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
I love gnocchi, but my family don’t, so it’s something I order regularly when we go out. Well done, yours came out very nicely.
thanks Cindy – I will have to try some next time we eat Italian to make sure the texture is right!
What makes pasta flour different than other flour and where can you buy it?
Farina di grano duro – or 00 flour is finer than common cake flour. Depending on where you live you should be able to find this at any good delicatessen. In Somerset West the Spar at Lions Square keeps stock. Giovanni’s in Sea Point also stocks this. Let me know where you live so I can try and help with stores that may stock it.
I live in Stellenbosch, will check out the stores here but if you can recommend a place that stocks it it would save me a lot of trouble!
Try Melissa’s in Dorp Street – I am sure I have seen it there.