Gnocchi

Laurie Salvador

Vegetarian • Dairy Free Inexpensive • Takes a little effort

Gnocchi is a favourite in our house, especially with homemade tomato sauce.

I remember learning how to make them over the shoulder of my Nonni. She made it look so effortless and I loved the way she rolled them over a fork

Nonni to make the grid marks that allow the sauce to cling to them.

You can make them ahead on a rainy day and freeze them for use at a dinner party. They will keep for several months in the freezer.

Yukon Gold potatoes are slightly sweeter; I use them for gnocchi served with a tomato sauce. I found incredible purple fingerling potatoes in Keremeos this Summer (solanum tuberosum . . . high in anti-oxidants and potassium). They don’t bleed or fade when you cook them and make a stunning dish. I remember learning how to make them over the shoulder of my Nonni.

Special Equipment Potato ricer, gnocchi board or corrugated cardboard, micro-plane grater. Prep and Cooking Time: 1 hour 2 lbs/1 kg Yukon Gold, purple fingerling, or Russet potatoes: (4 medium) 1½ to 2 cups/120 to 240 gr allpurpose or Double 00 flour 1 egg yolk 1 tsp/5 ml salt 4 tbsp/60 ml finely grated parmesan cheese (optional) plus a little for garnish 1 tbsp/15 ml melted butter 1 tbsp/15 ml olive oil Black pepper

Cook the unpeeled potatoes in a large pot of salted water until tender. When testing to see if they are done, use the same potato because piercing them will make

Photo: Laurie Salvador them take on water, which we don’t want. Drain and cool on paper towel. Remove skins and press through a potato ricer into a large bowl. If you don’t have a ricer, try a sturdy colander or a cheese grater.

Add the egg yolk, salt, and 80% of the flour. Mix by hand. Keep adding the remaining flour until you have a mixture that is soft and smooth, much like a bread dough.

On a floured workspace, roll a handful of the dough by hand into a long rope about ½" thick. Make it as consistent in size as possible. Cut the rope into 1" pieces. If you have a gnocchi board, roll the pieces gently over the board to create little ridges, then set them aside on a flour-dusted tray. If you don’t have a gnocchi board, gently roll them across the tines of a fork or a strip of corrugated cardboard.

Before you roll the entire batch, freeze two for 15 minutes, then cook as a test. Put them in a pot of boiling salted water; when the gnocchi rise to the top, they are done. Cool and taste. •

If the gnocchi are firm yet fluffy and have not disintegrated in the water, you have the right consistency.