A few weeks ago, I was leaving the house to go to yoga practice when my mom called me to let me know the family was harvesting potatoes. I drove to our patch of land and saw that my uncles and aunts were all there, bending over the freshly plowed soil to pick up the potatoes my dad had planted last spring. I’m not sure whether or not I was looking for an excuse to skip yoga (I’m terrible at finding motivation to work out) but I love being together with my family for things like this – that is, working to harvest fruits and vegetables we will all enjoy for many months to come. So I went back home, dropped the mat and towel, grabbed my camera and rushed back to the potato patch.
It’s worth mentioning that squatting to pick up potatoes, lifting heavy baskets, transporting tools, running after my little nephew who’s dangerously obsessed with tractors, and moving around to snap photos can be considered a good work out. [self-pat on the back]
After a few hours spent digging our fingers into the ground, we ended up with a nice amount of potatoes. Needless to say, the next day my mom and I used some to make one of the most loved dishes of all: gnocchi. My mom is quite an amazing gnocchi maker and I stole some of her “secrets” to share here with you; they’ll allow you to make plump, light, delicate, and pillowy potato gnocchi…the ones that are so ethereal they melt in your mouth.
Ecco qui, the golden rules for perfect gnocchi:
1. Use ONLY mealy potatoes (Russet potatoes will do).
2. Make the dough while the potatoes are still quite warm.
3. Hold back on flour and use only as much as needed to form a workable dough.
4. Knead the dough just as long as it takes for the ingredients to hold together. Do not overwork it, otherwise the flour’s gluten will develop and make the gnocchi chewy and tough.
5. It’s always a good idea to test the dough consistency by cooking a couple of gnocchi. If they break, you’ll need to add a bit more flour.
(thanks, Mom).
FYI, there are 3 different sizes of gnocchi:
*Gnocchi: they’re about 1 inch long (2.5-3 cm); they’re ridged with a fork and they’re perfect for a hearty and rich meat sauce, like ragù.
*Gnocchetti: they’re a bit longer than 1/2 inch (1.5 cm)
*Chicche (Kee-kkeh): They look like little balls, and they’re about 1/3 inch long (1 cm).
I decided to make gnocchetti because I had a fresh and light sauce in mind. I sauteed a few cherry tomatoes (the last ones from our garden – *tear*) with a handful of tasty black olives preserved in oil (olive taggiasche is what I used): a perfect end-of-summer dish. Homemade and fresh. Can you ask for more?
Oh, I forgot to mention our potatoes taste nothing short of fantastic. Remarkably better than the store-bought ones. They’re awesome boiled with just a sprinkle of salt on top. Buonissime!
If you’re a gnocchi lover (…and honestly, who isn’t??), make sure you check out the recipe for Ricotta Gnocchi with Butter and Sage Sauce. They’re quite awesome, too.
- 2.2 lb (1 kg) mealy potatoes* of similar size, scrubbed
- 1¼ cup (160 g) of "00" Italian flour (+ more for dusting and kneading)
- 2 oz (55 g) Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
- 1 egg
- a bit of nutmeg, grated
- salt
- -
- 1 clove of garlic
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 30 cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup (or more, if you like) of black olives in oil, drained
- a couple of basil leaves (+ more for garnish)
- Parmigiano Reggiano to shave on top
- Place unpeeled potatoes in a pot of cold water. Place pot over stove and cook potatoes until you can easily poke them through with a fork.
- While potatoes are cooking, sauté the garlic with the tomatoes and the black olives in extra-virgin olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Add salt and basil. Set aside.
- Drain potatoes and remove peel with a knife while they're hot, being careful not to burn your fingers. With a potato ricer, mash potatoes on a clean surface. Form a well in the center of mashed potatoes and break an egg in it. Add cheese, nutmeg and two pinches of salt (or more if needed). Combine all ingredients and gradually add flour - just as much as the dough takes. Depending on the type of potatoes you're using, you'll need more or less flour. The secret to soft gnocchi is to hold back on flour and stop kneading as soon as you get a workable dough. Once you obtain it, divide it in pieces with a dough cutter (see photo).
- Lightly dust the working surface with flour and roll each piece into ½-inch logs. Using the dough cutter, cut each log into small pieces.You can boil a small batch to test the consistency and adjust the amount of flour, if needed.
- Toss gnocchi in boiling water. Once they come to the surface (it'll take about 2 minutes), transfer them with a slotted spoon into a pan containing the sauce and turn on heat.
- Sauté gnocchi for just a minute, delicately stirring them so that they absorb the sauce. Transfer to plate and shave fresh Parmigiano Reggiano on top. Garnish with basil leaves and serve right away.
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