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.

Someone's Paesano's Shrimp

A neighbor and friend raves about the Shrimp Paesano in San Antonio and laments that it is so far from Cochiti Lake. I decided to attempt the dish for him and found a number of recipes on line. I'll just say that it is not a fun recipe...it takes real precise timing to get the shrimp cooked but not over cooked while preparing the sauce and having the pasta done and ready to serve. And if you are on cholesterol medication, double the dose before consuming this dish. Two sticks of butter for four people! More than I generally use in a month.

Because this is not MY recipe, I'll just give the links to recipe variations.  http://www.grouprecipes.com/94879/shrimp-paesano.html

also http://www.cooks.com/recipe/9y08o0kb/shrimp-paesano.html

also https://andshecancook.wordpress.com/2010/08/29/paesanos-shrimp-for-ali/

also http://thechefinmyhead.blogspot.com/2010/01/shrimp-paesano-my-way.html

also http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/shrimp-paesano-52065981

also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nrBlPwRhnw&t=165s

Note that in the video, the cook does not use egg yolk in the sauce; the other recipes do. I tried it with the egg yolk.

Antipasto was breaded zucchini and pizza squares.

 Sautéing the shrimp that have been soaked in half-and-half and dredged in flour.

 Melting the butter into the lemon juice and egg yolk.

 Keep the shrimp hot under the broiler - but not too long.

 Served over capellini (angel hair) pasta

Forgot to get pictures of dessert which was fruit - lightly sugared strawberries with kiwi fruit and cantaloupe and lazy chef cannoli: broken waffle-style ice cream cones to dip in sweetened ricotta cheese with a dash of vanilla and generously sprinkled with mini-chocolate chips and topped with lemon zest.

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.