First Greens of the Season

 Sometimes food makes me happy. Especially when it comes from the garden. 

Especially when gardening here in New Mexico is such a challenge, what with the cold nights, the extremely hot days, the poor soil, the drought, the squirrels, the insects. Did I mention the blistering sun?

Today I was able to gather a good bunch of assorted greens: Swiss chard, kale, and spinach. This was all a substitute for my usual escarole. With a little variation, the Italian bean and pork hock minestra was excellent. 

At the last minute I decided that homemade potato gnocchi would go well with the soup. 

And, yes, it made me happy. 

Spinach, Swiss chard, kale. Extra virgin olive oil, garlic, peperoncini (hot pepper). cooked together. Pork hock, boiled. Cannellini beans, ceci (garbanzo beans), black pepper. Simmer for a couple of hours or more.

Potato gnocchi.

Serve together. Be Happy.

Rainy Day Gnocchi: Gnocchi di Patate; Gnocchi di Ricotta; Gnocchi di Zucca

Spent a rainy day here in New Mexico (it rains so infrequently here) making three different kinds of gnocchi: traditional potato/flour gnocchi; light and airy ricotta/flour gnocchi; and roasted butternut/flour gnocchi.

The recipe is basic for all three: start with your signature ingredient: boiled in skin, peeled and riced potatoes; a container of ricotta cheese; seeded, quartered, roasted, peeled and riced butternut squash.

To each add a little salt (add an optional dash of nutmeg to the ricotta and the butternut squash).

Add flour a little at a time and mix lightly with your hands until a moist uniform dough forms; do not knead or over mix. Let rest covered with a damp dish towel for ten minutes or so.

Work with pieces the size of an orange while the rest of the dough stays covered. make the dough onto a rope by rolling with the fingers and palms on a LIGHTLY floured board until the rope is about the thickness of a hot dog.

Cut the rope into about 1-inch pieces and score each gnocco with a fork, rolling the piece forward and making a dimple in each gnocco. Place on a tray and freeze or cook in boiling salted water until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon, spider scoop or small strainer.

Little pillows of delectable goodness.

Serve with your favorite sauce: potato gnocchi with tomato sauce; ricotta gnocchi with butter and grated parmigiano; butternut gnocchi with browned butter and sage.


Here are the details:

Uncle Gregorio’s Gnocchi

Approximate proportions:  

3 lbs Idaho or Russet (baking) potatoes

1 lb of flour

salt

A potato ricer (A kitchen tool for pressing cooked potato through holes creating a course mash)

Wash and boil the potatoes whole with the skins till just cooked (a fork will just go through easily). Do not over-cook.  Allow the potatoes to cool then peal the skins off (the skins should slide off fairly easily).

Press potatoes through the ricer onto a floured board.

Add a little salt (about 1 tsp).

Add flour to the potatoes a cup or so at a time and mix gently by hand until the dough forms and is soft but not sticky – do not knead or over mix. 

Note: It is helpful to let the dough "rest" for 20-30 minutes so the flour absorbs moisture.

Cut off a piece of dough about the size of a large orange and using your palm and fingers roll the dough on the floured board forming a long “rope” about the diameter of a hot dog.

Cut the pasta rope into one-inch pieces and, still on the floured board, flick each of the gnocchi with your finger (or the back side of a fork) leaving an indentation in the center.   Place the gnocchi on dinner plates. Continue till you have used up all the dough. 

Boil a large pot of water, add salt. Boil batches of the gnocchi a plate-full at a time.  Slide the gnocchi gently off the plate into the boiling water and when the gnocchi rise to the surface, remove them with a strainer, spider, or slotted spoon. 

Place each batch in a bowl or serving dish into which you have ladled some of your favorite homemade tomato sauce.  Continue till all the gnocchi are cooked, adding more sauce as you add each batch. Serve immediately.

Instead of tomato sauce, toss with melted butter and Romano cheese.

Variation: Gnocchi di Ricotta

2 lbs ricotta cheese

All-purpose flour

Salt

Mix enough flour with the ricotta to make a soft light dough as with potatoes.

Make the gnocchi and cook as in the above recipe.

Boneless Chicken Breast in White Wine Sauce with Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Steamed Broccoli

This was an impromptu meal - as mine usually are. It is also simple insofar as it does not have complex flavors or over spiced. 

Someone gave me a bag of sweet potatoes which I microwaved the other night. We ate a few, but had plenty left over. And today boneless chicken was on sale along with broccoli. I only wish I had thought of buying some mushrooms - that would have made the dish even better.

First I prepared the broccoli and placed it into a pot with about an inch of cold water, ready to be steamed.

Then I sliced the chicken breasts into medallions - small thin slices - and sautéed them in some olive oil, added salt and fresh ground pepper and some thyme. (I just thought thyme would go good with the chicken and the sweet potato gnocchi. I think rosemary would also be a good choice.)

I removed the chicken, added a couple of tablespoons of flour into the skillet, whisked the flour to make a roux and added some white wine (I think it was Chardonnay) and let it thicken. 

(I didn't have chicken broth and I suppose you can substitute chicken broth for the wine, but I think the wine gives it a more sophisticated fruity flavor.)

Now if I'd had some mushrooms, I would have sautéed them and removed them with the chicken before making the sauce.

Once the sauce was thickened to the right consistency by adding more wine as needed and thickening a  little more, I returned the chicken to the skillet with all of its juices (the cooked chicken releases some good juices as it sits) and let it simmer a little over low heat.

Meanwhile I got a big pot of salted water on to boil and made the gnocchi. I used about a cup and a half of gently mashed sweet potato and about an equal amount of flour to make a dough which I mixed by hand just until the flour was incorporated. Don't over work the dough.

Roll pieces of the dough into ropes, cut one-inch or slightly shorter pieces and roll each gnocco with one or two fingers while making an indentation with the finger and place them on a plate.

I slid the gnocchi into the boiling water, and as soon as they start floating to the top of the pot, I spoon them out with a slotted spoon and place them into the skillet with the chicken. Continue until all the gnocchi are cooked and removed from the pot.

 Serve along with steamed broccoli. No grated cheese for this dish. The gnocchi and the chicken-white wine gravy really go nicely together.

Dinner's ready!

Gnocchi di Ricotta

When I was growing up I never heard the word "dumpling" at home.  But I ate plenty of gnocchi (pronounced n'yaw-kee, with the gn having a similar sound as the Spanish ñ) totally unaware that they are a type of dumpling.

Although not strictly regional, "Roman" gnocchi are made with potato and "Florentine" gnocchi are often made with ricotta or a mixture of ricotta and spinach.  Almost all the recipes on line include eggs in the mix, but mom never used eggs.  The dough is simple: about 2 cups or 1 1/2  pounds of ricotta cheese, a little salt, pepper and nutmeg and about 1 1/4 cups of flour a bit at a time while mixing with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.  Then mix by hand until the dough is evenly textured.  You should add flour until you don't feel any wetness in the dough.  It should be soft and light.

Get a big pot of salted water boiling on the stove while you make your gnocchi.

Roll the dough out into long ropes with the palms and fingers on a floured board.  

Cut the rope into about 1 inch sections, and roll each piece in the palm of one hand with two fingers of the other hand and let the gnocchi fall on a floured cookie sheet or large plate. 

Toss the gnocchi into the pot all at once or in two batches.  When the gnocchi float to the top they are done.  Remove with a slotted spoon.  

Serve with tomato sauce, melted butter, or other sauce of your choice.

Dinner's ready.

Just a note on that ricotta cheese in the picture.  The Maulucci family is related to me on my mother's side.  They don't know I exist but they make the best ricotta in this area.