Sunday, October 23, 2011

Ricotta Gnocchi


Gnocchi is one of my favorite foods but it’s hit and miss in restaurants and even harder to successfully make at home. I’ve attempted to make potato gnocchi several times and it has never been stellar, which is always disappointing since it’s usually a several hour affair and ends with both me and the kitchen covered in flour.

This past summer I took gnocchi class at PCC from Ethan Stowell and he taught us how to make semolina, potato and ricotta gnocchi. I’m usually a potato gnocchi gal, but in this case the ricotta was not only the simplest to make but my favorite out of the three.

When we went home to Silverdale my dad made his version of ricotta gnocchi to go with our lamb (recipe coming soon!) dinner. It hit home! My parents gave me a gnocchi board for my birthday so I decided to give it a go as a side dish to go with my Beauties and the Feast October cooking assignment: Oktoberfest Beer Roasted Chicken. Both the chicken and gnocchi were a success!

Here's dad's uncooked gnocchi in Silverdale (he's a pro!):



And my first attempt... I obviously need to keep practicing!


Ricotta Gnocchi
Tyler Florence / Food & Wine Magazine

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups ricotta, 13 ounces (the original recipe calls for sheep’s-milk ricotta)
2 large egg yolks
1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Fresh sage

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta with the egg yolks and salt until blended. Add the 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour and stir until a very soft, sticky dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and sprinkle with flour. Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into 2 ropes that are each about 1 inch in diameter. Using a floured knife, cut the ropes into 1/2-inch slices. If you have a gnocchi board give them a roll to create ridges. Transfer the gnocchi to a baking sheet lined with wax paper and sprinkle with flour.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook until they rise to the surface, and then simmer the gnocchi until firm, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the gnocchi to a bowl of ice water to cool them quickly and stop the cooking. Drain and gently pat dry.

4. In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter. Add the gnocchi and cook over high heat, turning once, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve right away. (We browned the butter with sage.)

Really, what's not to love about dumplings smothered in browned butter and Parmigiano Reggiano!?

And it's so much fun to cook in a kitchen with this view!

6 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! I need to make this soon. My mom has used this very recipe and had great things to say as well. I am looking forward to our future cooking dates Miss Em!

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  2. I can see how the view is a good companion in the kitchen. Beautiful! And I love the pic of the gnocchi with all the Parm dumped over it, that's what I'm talkin about!

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  3. Wow, those are beautiful!! (and so is the view!!) I'm definitely going to try this recipe! xo

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  4. Loved your fotos and story as always. One change that Dad does is to make twice as many ropes that are half as fat.....i.e. he makes 4 ropes that are 1/2 inch in diameter. That makes them smaller and we think they cook a little better.

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  5. Sounds so good! I'll have to remember to try this when I'm back on dairy!

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  6. The antients used Christinaity to initiate the "Beginnning of The End". Along the way they used it to initiate other tools which they will use to further mankind into decay and towards the Apoocalypse:::USA, "democracy", capitalism/corporations.
    Of the tools they have used, religious, political, economic, social is by far the most damaging and seems reserved for those who have experienced each tactic:::
    The god's social tool promoted moral decay, whether sexual, behavioral, professional, etc. It created an enviornment where indecency is the norm.

    The dogs are dead.
    And they're still incurring evil from their prior life(ves).
    Junior Seau is a good example::The real, a 20-something in her next life, making progress, so the gods allow her clone host fake to committ suicide, allowing her off the hook incurring evil in her prior life. AND close the restaurant, her legacy in capitalism.
    Al Davis should be so lucky.
    The antient's leaders, politicians, celebrities, corporate executives, scientists/professionals are clone host fakes, fresh out of high school who woudln't know their ass from a hole in the ground. Without the gods doing their jobs THROUGH THEM they'd only be good for playing with themselves.

    Because of their use of clone host fakes the gods have created a blameless society where nobody takes responsibility for the destruction which has occurred.
    The BODs, CEOs and wealthy are fakes fresh out of high school, the gods no longer push anyone into it and instead used temptation, and the result is devistation the gods won't "make up" to the disfavored anymore.

    There was a very real perception that bi-racial was much worse for the white than it was for the person of color. The liberal culture, which was designed and promoted with the god's tools to achieve their Apocalyptic goals, screamed racism when there was a very reasonable explanation for this reality::::
    In this white punishment known as the United States the person of color has already adopted the disfavors/temptations intended for another race. But by associating/mating with a person of color the white is newly adopting the disfavors of another culture.
    And this is the reason why people of color are not welcome in the United States. The gods control everything:::The perception they want to create, the thoughts they want you to have.
    People of color can't recover from absorbing the temptations from two cultures. And why they become more and more like so many blacks in America:::Veterans at absorbing the temptations of two cultures.
    To further illustrate this is why California's educational system/funding was ranked #1 when California was white:::Education being the basis of the affluent economic system. Now even public higher education has become unaffordable.

    The gods behave monsterously in the course of managing Planet Earth, matching our decay, but they demand people be good if you are to have a chance to ascend as a child in a future life.
    Not only is doing the right things important (praying, attoning for your sins, thinking the right way:::accepting humility, modesty, vulnerability), so is avoiding the wrong things important as well:::"Go and sin no more".
    You NEED active parents who share wisdom to have a real chance to ascend into heaven in a future life, and you MUST be a good parent as well to have that opportunity in your next life.

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