Gnocchi for life.

(Em Português)


This is the - best - gnocchi - recipe - of - my - life.

It will never be exchanged or abandoned, never more abstract gnocchis.

It is so simple, so tasty, so light, and so versatile.

I would say I am in love.

The recipe comes from Linda, and she posted it as a beet gnocchi.

But the point is this recipe may me used as base for gnocchi made out of anything.

At this time, I prepared it with potatoes only, but to change it's flavor (beets, carrots,

pumpkin or any vegetable with a similar consistency) all you need to do is substitute

half the potato with the vegetable of choice and prepare it in the same way.

1kg potatoes (a hint from Linda: if you don't own a scale, measure the potatoes weight at the grocery store when buying them)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

(Cup measure: 240ml)

I placed the potatoes, washed and with their peels, in a large pan with cold water a bit of salt, and let them cook until soft.

While I waited, I sifted flour/soda/salt and set aside.

I was cooking with my mom, so I left the salad and sauce to her care. But if I were to prepare everything on my own, I would rather have these things ready before the potatoes were done.

Anyway, I took the potatoes out one by one, peeling them under cold running water, next smashing each one with the ricer over a bowl, until all of them were smashed. Like I said in the previous post, this can be done using a fork with no problem at all.

[HOWEVER, if you're trying the mixed potato-veggie gnocchi, it would be nice to acquire a ricer, since the vegetables generally are harder to smash.]

Next I added butter to the hot potatoes, stirring a bit so that it can melt, then mixing in the flour/soda/salt until smooth. The dough shouldn't be sticking to your hands, if that happens, just toss in a little more flour.

With the dough ready, I put plenty of water to boil in the large pan, seasoned with a bit of salt.

Over the floured counter I shaped small portions of dough into 2cm thick logs. Using a sharp knife I cut them into 3cm long gnocchi, then placing them in a tray to dry out. I repeated these steps until I had no dough left.

I carefully dumped 10 gnocchi at a time into the boiling water. When you put gnocchi to cook they sink to the bottom of the pan, a while later they come up to the surface. That's when you know they are done.

So I take them out using a slotted spoon, and transfer them to the bowl I will use to serve.

I repeat until I run out of raw gnocchi, taking the care of keeping them covered to keep the heat.

In the end, I pour the hot sauce over the bowl of gnocchi and serve.

Yields 4 servings. I mean, 4 delicious servings.