Pasta Series #11: Gnocchi di patate
Some observations/ anecdotes/ realizations from lockdown, day #43:
- "Quarantine" derives from "quaranta" or "quarantina," which is the Italian word for “forty.” Historically, a quarantine referred to a period of isolation for 40 days for all those who had traveled on ships suspected of carrying an infectious disease (this practice was carried out in the 14th century in Venice in an effort to contain the plague).
Here in Rome we are now three days past the 40 day mark, and as much as I've gotten in to a routine -- held together by a combination of daily workouts, reading, Netflix, cooking, and FaceTime -- it is all beginning to weigh on me. I miss my friends; I miss restaurants, hugs, handshakes, baci on both cheeks, cappuccini at the bar, the city itself (an old friend), and even the crowded metro, for the simple reason that it took me to places that were more than 200 meters from my house. Don't get me wrong! I realize I am extremely lucky in this pandemic -- I have a job, a balcony, and my health -- but to say this new normal wasn't beginning to wear on me would be untrue.
- A sunny day in lockdown makes all the difference; I would've thought the opposite to be true (good weather might make the fact that you have to stay home all the more frustrating) but actually its the opposite. A gray rainy day means lower spirits, while sunshine is consistently mood-lifting, especially if you have a balcony to sit out on while you read and work on your freckles (I've accepted long ago that I do not tan).
- If I thought I loved cooking before, this lockdown has only confirmed it -- I haven't get gotten tired of making dinner yet, not once, and spending time in the kitchen has been a consistent highlight of all 43 days so far. I've expanded my rep like never before (less meals in restaurants, more time at home!) experimenting with everything from veggie burgers to stuffed sweet potatoes to braised cannellini beans to pasta all different ways; I've baked challah bread and focaccia and English muffins, peanut butter cookies and brownies and maple banana bread, and I've enjoyed every second of it.
- More main characters in the lockdown series: The Last Shadow Puppets (a natural segue way from the Arctic Monkeys); Lewis Capaldi (the complete opposite of either of the aforementioned bands); the damn delightful movie that is Booksmart; the Graham Norton Show on repeat; seasons 1 and 2 of Peaky Blinders; City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert; white chocolate and berry colomba from Olivieri 1882 (yes, we ordered a second one); the most perfect gnocchi di patate.
...which brings us to this week's recipe, the latest episode in the blog's Pasta Series, and the answer to an Instagram follower's request for a good recipe for potato gnocchi! Lockdown has made me efficient, hasn't it?
I'll jump right in here with a few key tips to making Perfect Potato Gnocchi (PPG):
1.) Rule #1 when making PPG: use potatoes that are floury (I used all-purpose potatoes i.e patate per tutti gli usi which worked great). Floury potatoes have little moisture, and can hold their shape well even after being rolled into dough. Yukon Golds work well, for example. Slightly older potatoes (ie ones with less moisture) are also welcome here.
2.) Unlike many other gnocchi recipes you'll come across, there is no egg used here; the idea here is that the more moisture you add to the dough, the more flour you need compensate for it, and the more flour you add, the heavier your gnocchi will be, so try and use as little flour as possible (thanks Carla for this lesson). Bottom line: gnocchi made without egg are much lighter, which is what we want!
3.) Try and work the potatoes in to the flour while they’re still warm; they're starchier at this stage, and the starch will bring the dough together without adding too much flour. Work your dough quickly and don’t over knead it, which could (also) lead to heavy gnocchi.
Unsurprisingly then: these gnocchi came out are feather-light – if they’d floated off my fork, I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised -- and were a joy to eat (pure potato-clouds!). The dough here comes together very easily and is a cinch to work with, and while it may seem a bit time consuming to roll and cut the gnocchi, I can assure you that the whole process is quite therapeutic in its repetitiveness -- cut! roll! cut! -- which is especially useful and downright welcome in a lockdown. These PPG were excellent served up with Marcella Hazan's insanely uncomplicated and incredibly luxurious tomato sauce, but sage butter, ragu', or if you're Carla Tomasi, a truffle butter with mushrooms (swoon) would also be lovely. Freshly grated cheese -- Pecorino or Parmigiano, take your pick -- might as well be mandatory here. Bonus: these freeze extremely well, meaning you can make a big batch of them to keep and enjoy whenever you want (perfect lockdown fare!)
Until next week!
A couple of notes: These freeze extremely well. If you want to save your gnocchi for later, arrange them on in a single layer on a flour-dusted baking sheet as soon as they're shaped, and place the pan in the freezer until they're solid, about 3 hours. Gather the frozen gnocchi into resealable freezer bags and store for up to 4-6 weeks. In past gnocchi-making adventures, I've tried forming them the traditional and also slightly fancier way, using a gnocchi board or fork, but found that simply cutting my gnocchi with the bench scraper -- or rather, leaving them at the step before rolling -- was faster and made gnocchi thatwere just as nice. This is what I've done here. Please do as you wish!
Want to know what the other recipes in my blog’s Pasta Series? Click here!
GNOCCHI DI PATATE
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1 kilo of all-purpose potatoes
350 grams of 00 flour
A good pinch of salt
Marcella Hazan's Tomato, Butter, Onion Sauce
Directions:
1.) Place the potatoes in a large pot with enough cold water to cover. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork but the skins are not split; this will vary depending on the size of the potatoes, but for me took around 30 minutes.
2.) While the potatoes are cooking, pour your flour and salt on to your pasta board (or another clean, dry surface, or even a cutting board). Drain the potatoes once cooked and wait until they are just cool enough to handle (note that the hotter the potatoes are when they are peeled and riced, the lighter the gnocchi will be.) Working quickly and protecting the hand that holds the potatoes with a folded kitchen towel, scrape the skin from the potato with a knife. Press the peeled potatoes through a potato ricer and into the mound of flour.
3.) Begin to incorporate the potatoes into the flour -- I used my bench scraper for this, cutting the potatoes in to the flour and then gathering the mixture together from all sides until a dough starts to form. Lightly knead the dough, just until it comes together -- you want to handle the dough as little as possible here for light gnocchi.
4.) Wash and dry your hands. Dust the dough, your hands, and the work surface lightly with some of the remaining flour. Cut the dough into six equal pieces and set off to one side of the work surface. Place one piece of dough in front of you and using both hands, roll the dough into a rope 1/2 inch thick, flouring the dough if necessary as you roll to keep it from sticking.
5.) Slice the ropes into pieces using a bench scraper to make your gnocchi; if you're going to make gnocchi with ridges, this would be the time to do it, either using a fork or a gnocchi board. Set on a floured baking sheet lined and continue forming gnocchi from the remaining dough. Once you've shaped all your gnocchi, they mus they must be cooked immediately or frozen.
6.) When you're ready to cook your gnocchi: bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop about half the gnocchi into the boiling water a few at a time, stirring gently and continuously with a wooden spoon. Remove the gnocchi from the water with a slotted spoon as they rise to the top, draining them well, and transfer to a wide saucepan with your prepared Tomato, Butter, and Onion Sauce. Toss lightly and serve immediately, topped with lots of freshly grated cheese.