Gnocchi Pomodoro

Courtesy of The Food Network

In order to stretch my culinary skills once more I thought I would attempt something I swore off at the beginning of this blog as part of our Pasta Bolognese week...making homemade pasta.   Not only am I going to attempt this but I am going to try none other than David's favorite pasta, gnocchi.  Honestly, every single time we go to an Italian restaurant he gets the gnocchi and gives his full review by the end of our meal.  His target audience?  Well, that's just me.  But I think he's had plenty of experience to offer a well thought out and seasoned opinion.

Now I venture into uncharted territory where he will be evaluating my own homemade gnocchi.  After extensive research by both Jen and myself on how to up the chances of gnocchi success, we stumbled upon this article.  While I fully intend to employ the baked/not boiled strategy, I unfortunately do not have a potato ricer,  But guess who does?  Jen!  She literally has every kitchen gadget known to man.  Instead, I will do the traditional mashing method.  

Crocs?  Really sir?

After reading the article, we also decided that Mario Batali's Gnocchi Pomodoro would be the best recipe given the cooking methods and the tomato based sauce.  Plus, choice of footwear aside, the man can cook.  

I wish you much success with this weekly supper and keep your fingers crossed for me as well!  This will definitely be pushing my limits!

Happy Cooking!
Joanne








Gnochi Pomodoro

Total Time: 3 hr 20 min
Prep 50 min
Inactive 30 min
Cook 2 hr 0 min

Ingredients 
Pomodoro Sauce:
1 (28-ounce) can whole Italian tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Salt and pepper
Crushed chile flakes
6 to 8 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup cream
 

Gnocchi:
6 large baking potatoes, like russets
2 egg yolks
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, melted
Pinch salt
Pinch white pepper
Fresh grated nutmeg
2 cups flour
Grated Parmesan, to serve

Directions
To make the Sauce: 

Take the tomatoes out of the can, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and reserve the juice. In a saucepan, add olive oil and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and chili and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. If necessary, add the reserved juice. Add the basil. Finish with cream.

 

To make the gnocchi:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Bake the potatoes for approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until tender. Scoop each potato out of its skin into mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes to a fine consistency.
• In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks, melted butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the egg mixture to the potatoes and mix together. Add flour to mixture, 1 cup at a time, and mix until smooth.
• Scoop out and make finger sized rolls on floured board. Cut with knife into bite sized pieces. Roll each piece over the back of a fork to make a round form. In a pan, freeze until hard enough to handle, and put into portion sized bags.
• Fill a large pot with water and add a pinch of salt and boil. Drop gnocchi into boiling water 3 or 4 at a time so the water doesn't stop boiling. The gnocchi is ready when it floats to the top. Drain gnocchi and scoop out into bowl and add sauce. Add fresh Parmesan and serve.