So What Exactly is Gnocchi and How Does One Cook It

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Chances are, if you are not influenced by Italian or French cooking, you have never heard of a Gnocchi. I believe the Brazilians are well versed in them as well, as I'm sure there may be some other cultures out there that have their own variation of them too. I myself was blessed to have had an Italian family that I grew up involved with, thanks to my one of my best buddies, being Italian and I hug out with him and his family often. Point being, they introduced me to them many years ago and I developed a taste and fondness for them that has never subsided.

As I understand it, there are a few different ways to make them, but the Gnocchi's I'm most familiar with are of a potato base. Oddly enough, even though they consist mostly of potato's, they taste strangely enough like pasta. I was reading somewhere that some other variations of them consist of ordinary wheat flour, bread crumbs, or semolina, they also suggested "other ingredients", but lord only knows what that could be. I'm sure whatever those ingredients are, they are of a starch base item.

Making them from scratch is an ordeal I've only experienced once, and it was so long ago, I honestly don't remember the process, so I'm not going to go there. I'm fairly certain that an assertive person, who just had to know, could certainly dig through the internet and find a, from scratch recipe. I will gladly inform you, that any good grocery store in your area, will more then likely have them in their Italian section, usually in the area where you will find pasta and spaghetti sauces. Every time I have found them, they were in a clear plastic vacuum sealed package. I just got some this weekend, where it was a buy one get one free, so you know I couldn't resist them with a deal like that.

Cooking them, whether you buy them pre-made or make them from scratch is fairly similar to making pasta, ravioli would be the best example I can think of, as far as cooking methods. Basically, you fill a pot with cold water, place it on the stove and bring it to a boil. I usually at a table spoon or so of oil, just to ensure they don't stick together. Just as the water is starting to slowly boil, throw them in and you will notice that the Gnocchi's will sink to the bottom of the pot. With in a matter of a minute or two, you will find that they are no longer on the bottom of the pot, they will now be floating on the top of the boiling water. Once they pop up to the top, which is just a matter of a minute or two, they are done, pour them out into a strainer and rinse with warm water, just like you would with any pasta.

Now, you must be wondering, what am I going to top this peculiar looking food with? Generally speaking, any type of sauce you might pour over your favorite pasta, will work fine with Gnocchi's. I have always in the past done mine with a Red Meat Sauce, or an Alfredo Sauce and the are terrific these ways, however, I got very creative this weekend, just to see what could come of it. Much to my surprise, my family absolutely loved it, as a matter of fact, they loved it so much, that the leftovers, that I was looking forwards to, were gone the next day when I got home from work, and I made a huge portion, just so I would have some leftovers for the next day just for me. So I guess I'll just have to make them again.

I was going to share that recipe in this article, but I'm thinking I'm going to write a whole new article dedicated to that recipe, so if you are curious, you might want to come back to my article section to read about that. At least for now, you have been introduced to the Gnocchi, which can be a very fun and delicious alternative to doing a regular pasta night.

Italian Gnocchi

Gnocchi are little dumplings. They are a very ancient form of food, and there are examples of recipes for gnocchi, the back to 13th Century. Gnocchi can be made with many different ingredients, like pumpkin, bread, flour, flour, and eggplant. But the modern Italian dumplings with potatoes.

Gnocchi

3 pounds Russet potatoes
2 cups flour
2 eggs
Two dashes of salt

Sure to use russet potatoes or cooked. Russet potatoeshigh and low starch in water to make light gnocchi in texture. Cook the potatoes in the oven, microwave, and cook until it did. When the potatoes are cooked, leave the skin and remove after they are cooked. Too much moisture will cause the potatoes absorb the excess flour, which is a dumpling top. Run the cooked potatoes with a food mill or RICER.

Put the potatoes in a bowl and mix flour, eggs and salt. Stir until all ingredients are:recorded, and form a loose dough begins to take the dough in your hands and knead gently for several minutes, until dough forms a ball and is dry.

Divide the dough into a long stick, about ¾ to 1 inch in diameter. Cut into1 inch long pieces. Using a fork and gently put paint each piece with a fork for small grooves in one side of gnocchi. This will help keep the sauce.

Bring 6 liters of water to a boil. Drain dumplings, being careful not to put too much on his plateonce, and cook until they float, about one minute. Remove cooked gnocchi in boiling water and place in a bath of ice water to stop the cooking process. Continue until all the gnocchi are cooked. Removed from the ice-cooled dumplings on a towel to drain.

The gnocchi are now, like any other type of pasta can be used. Are particularly well with the pesto, but can be used with a different type of Italian pasta sauce. Cooked and refrigerated gnocchi can be launched with olive oil and are inRefrigerator for one or two days.