Be patient as you learn how to do this. My 1st two attempts ended up in the trash. But I now have a fool-proof recipe. I'll share my tips here and hopefully they will keep yours out of the trash.
A normal person makes this:
- 3 pounds Russet or Idaho potatoes
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup Parmesan
- salt, pepper, nutmeg
I quadrupled that. Yep, I made 12 pounds potatoes. These freeze AMAZINGLY. I always make a ton of these and stick them in the freezer. And my Italian grandmother-in-law is coming to town later this month. So I'm hoping to impress her with my homemade gnocchi. It took about 45 minutes to roll and cut all my gnocchi. And now I have gnocchi in the freezer for dayzzzz. UPDATE: My gnocchi got RAVE reviews from the Italians!!! I'm so excited!! See more here.
********Everything you see is 4 times the regular recipe.
Wash 3 pounds potatoes (I did 12 pounds).
Poke holes in them. Since I had so many, I cut a few slits in each since that's quicker than forking them.
Bake at 375 for an hour or until done (mine took closer to 2 hours because I had so many).
Half them and scoop out the potato from the skin. If you like stuffed potato skins, this is a great time to get that going. I just compost the skins.
Mash as you go. I scoop a handful, then mash.
It helps if you sucker your husband into mashing.
Put them in the fridge overnight. BIG TIP: They are easier to mash when warm. But they have to be cold to form the dough, which is why you fridge them overnight.
Use the dough attachment for your food processor. If you have a good mixer (like a Kitchen Aid), that would work great.
For the NORMAL proportions, you will divide the ingredients in half (from the above list) because that's what fits in the processor. For this amount, I cut the potatoes into 8 slices, like a pie.
In the processor (if you make the regular recipe, you put this amount in the processor twice; each time with half the potatoes. I hope I'm not confusing...):
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup parm
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- pinch of salt and pepper
Mix that.
Add 1 slice of the potatoes. This does not have to be precise. This is a very forgiving dough.
Mix that. Let it mix for 2-3 minutes. It will form a dough.
Flour your cutting board.
Knead your potato dough into a loaf.
Cut into 4 pieces.
Roll out to the thickness of a cigar.
Slice into 1/2" pieces.
Lay out on a cookie sheet. This is just a place to put them, you aren't baking them.
If you make a lot (like I am), put wax or parchment paper between layers.
Repeat.
A serving size is about a dozen pieces. I pulled out about 60 for us (enough for leftovers). I put the rest in the freezer. These will freeze overnight on the cookie sheet (you do this so you can spread them out and they don't freeze together), then transfer to a Ziploc or Tupperware. (I'll show you how to cook them frozen when I do it. But it's easy, you just drop them in the boiling water frozen. Don't thaw them out.) (Pictures from frozen gnocchi at the bottom of this post).
Boil water.
Make the sauce. I personally don't like a red sauce with gnocchi. I like cream sauces. Alfredo is awesome! I did a quick tomato cream sauce tonight.
And a side of veggies. All of this is from Cardo's Farm Project. That bumpy squash is not a regular summer squash. I didn't realize this until I cut into it (part of the amazing fun of being in a CSA! Lots of new veggies!). So I did not cook that, I did a zucchini instead.
A couple tblsp. of olive oil in a skillet for the sauce. Medium heat.
This is a skillet for the side of veggies.
Basil.
Salt and pepper.
Olive oil
Bake this beauty at 375 for about 20 minutes. Man, that's pretty!
Add a few cloves of garlic to the oil on medium heat. I usually add a spoonful of tomato paste to thicken the sauce, but didn't have any. If you have paste, add it here.
Add a large 28 oz can of chopped tomatoes (mostly drained, leave a little liquid).
Salt and pepper
Crushed red pepper to your spicy level.
Drop the gnocchi in the boiling water. Don't overcrowd them. Be sure it's a single layer of gnocchi in the pot. Careful dropping them, boiling water is....hot.
Add a pint of heavy cream to the sauce.
When the gnocchi rise to the top, they are done. It only takes 3-4 minutes. Transfer them to the sauce.
Add the next round of gnocchi.
Basil to the sauce.
I'm not sure why it looks orange.....It actually kinda pink (white cream, red tomatoes).
Add 1-2 ladles of starchy water to the sauce. That helps thicken it.
I pulled a few out for The Moose. He loved them!
Bread from a local, awesome bakery.
FROZEN GNOCCHI
So you laid your gnocchi out on a cookie sheet with parchment paper in between layers to keep them from sticking together. Leave them overnight. Once they are frozen, throw them in a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer. When you cook them, don't thaw them, just throw them in the boiling water frozen. Then remove from the water once they rise to the top (just like you did with the fresh gnocchi). Quick dinner any night of the week!
Two gallon size freezer bags!
Also see these posts using the frozen gnocchi:
Featured on Mandy's Recipe Box.
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