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November 27, 2005
Gnocchi
Lidia said it was possible (she makes things look so easy on TV). From the pictures in the book, it didn't actually look terrifying. Aside from the "potato ricer" reference (what's that?), the ingredient list was short, and the instructions pretty straightforward. I've always wanted to make it. So, tonight I decided to make gnocchi so we could throw into the aforementioned turkey soup.
I rediscovered the recipe while reading Lidia's Italian Table in the bookstore and picked up some potatoes at a deli on the way home. I also asked for a potato ricer at Tarzian's. They had some midieval looking contraption, but given the abundance of contraptions in our kitchen already I decided to go with Lidia's alternate suggestion of forcing the cooked potato through a sieve with a wooden spoon (bad idea). I got home, boiled and peeled the potatoes and got to work. Turns out the sieve method is nearly impossible with a fine-wire-mesh sieve (especially when you haven't cooked the potatoes enough, ahem) -- I think my arm's going to be sore tomorrow. After about 20 minutes of sieve-ricing I resorted to the food processor, which worked fine. Then I had fun making a complete mess all of the counter and the floor while trying to mix the dough together. Gnocchi dough sticks to EVERYTHING. It sticks, dries out, and refuses to be washed off easily, which complicated the mid-gnocchi-making picture taking.
The whole experience took up most of the evening (a good portion of that was cleaning) Also, the recipe I was using in the Italian-American Kitchen didn't call for grated cheese, but I think it's necessary. The resulting gnocci were very good, but a tiny bit bland. I also remembered that I don't really like potatoes (oops). But at least I finally gave it a try, and I have a bunch of frozen gnocci in the freezer to play around with now. Wish I could give them away as Christmas presents.
Posted by csageday at November 27, 2005 11:34 PM