I’ve never tried my hand at making gnocchi because it seems so time consuming and equipment heavy (who owns a potato ricer these days?!). But I found this easy-peasy recipe below at about.com and think I might just have to try it this weekend. I’m a sucker for things that start with “no-fail”:
I thought I’d send you a no-fail potato gnocchi recipe that’s shockingly easy. Generally I’m not a “short-cut cook” but I think you’ll agree that this is the way to go. The recipe was passed on to me from my sister-in-law, who is married to a Sicilian, and it was given to him by his Italian restaurant-owner friends.
GNOCCHI (depending on how much you like to eat serves 2)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Preparation:
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 teaspoon soft butter
- 2 cups instant potato flakes
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Add this mixture to processor and mix at low speed until dough forms.
Flour hands and table and knead dough then roll out flat, cut into strips and roll the strips into ropes. Cut the ropes into bite-sized pieces and roll each piece with the tines of the fork (for that “gnocchi look”). Boil in salted water for about 3-5 minutes. Drain with slotted spoon rather than a colander because they are a bit delicate. Add sauce of your choice. You can play around with the dough by adding parmesan, minced sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, whatever takes your fancy.
My impression: Made with good quality dried potatoes this will be quite good; about the only change I’d make is to use fresh rather than dried herbs.
Sounds easy enough! And I have some fresh basil in my fridge that’s desperate to be turned into pesto sauce. Perfetto!!!
The D Spot 