Gnocchi

So, it's not exactly (or in any way) related to Asian cuisine, much less sushi, but I made Gnocchi from scratch for the first time a couple weeks ago, and it was so easy I thought I'd share... Plus, one of the great things about making gnocchi from scratch is that you can freeze the gnocchi in batches so you can have a quick easy meal whenever you feel like it!

INGREDIENTS:

2 large russet potatoes

1-2 cups of flour

1 egg

Butter for cooking

Fresh herbs like sage

Grated parmesan cheese

The first thing you'll need is 2 large Potatoes and a few cooking utensils.

You can bake or boil them just like as if you were making mashed potatoes. Remember, if you bake them you'll want to jab a fork into them in several places to allow steam to escape and to ensure that they are cooked all the way through. Once they're done, cut them in half and let cool until you can handle them.

Next, scoop out the soft potato and discard the peels.

If you have a ricer use that, otherwise mash the potatoes just like you would for mashed potatoes, but get them as mashed as humanly possible (lumps are not desirable).

Add 1 cup of flour to your potatoes

Beat an egg

Add the egg to your Potato & Flour mix

 Use a spoon or your fingers, and fold the mix together until it resembles bread dough. 

Lay the dough on a floured cutting board and sprinkle with a little more flour.

Start kneading the dough with your hands.

Knead until it comes together nicely.

Next use a knife to cut off a small handful of dough.

Take the small piece of dough and start rolling it with your hand against the cutting board.

Roll it until you get a long, thin, bread-stick like piece of dough.

\

Take a sharp knife and cut it into 1 1/2 inch pieces or to the desired size.

Take a sheet pan, place a long piece of wax or parchment paper in the pan and lightly flour so the gnocchi wont stick.

Start lining your gnocchi on the sheet pan and continue to cut, roll, and slice the gnocchi pieces (this is the most time consuming part of the preperation).

Once you've finished  rolling and cutting all the gnocchi, you can use a fork prong to add those signature little lines in the gnocchi that make them look extra professional, and also help sauce cling to the little crevices. 

Set aside the gnocchi you are going to cook, then put the whole sheet pan into your freezer. You can't put them all into a bag at this point, otherwise they will stick together. So keep them on a level shelf of your freezer overnight. Once they are completely frozen, you can put 10-20 of them into individual freezer bags and they will not stick together. 

You now have a quick and easy gnocchi dinner ready in minutes. Note - frozen gnocchi will be cooked the exact same way as the fresh gnocchi; though they might take an extra couple minutes in the boiling water. But you do not have to thaw them first!

To cook the gnocchi, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add lots of salt - the general rule is that you want your water as salty as ocean water.

One of the great things about gnocchi is that you do not need a clock to boil them for a certain amount of time. Once the gnocchi are ready, they will float to the surface on their own. The same goes for frozen gnocchi, though it might take an extra minute!

While you're waiting for the gnocchi to start floating, heat a pan over medium heat. Once hot, add a couple tablespoons of butter.

Once the gnocchi surface in the water, use a strainer, and add the gnocchi into the butter.

Cook for a minute or two until a crust forms and then flip them over. 

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT PAN SEARING ANYTHING - If you try to flip the gnocchi and they stick to the pan it's because of one of two things - either you didn't add enough butter, or they're simply not done on that side yet. If you try to flip the gnocchi when they stick, you'll probably wind up destroying your gnocchi!! A magical thing happens with saute pans and food (as long as you've added enough oil or butter and waited until the pan has reached the desired temperature) - the food sticks to the pan, but just until it's cooked perfectly!!!!! Once something is seared on the right level of heat, the pan, on it's own, will release the food and you can flip it with ease. So if you can't get a good crust on a piece of chicken or fish, and much of the protein sticks to the pan when you try to flip it, either A: you're not adding enough oil to the pan before cooking, or B: you're trying to flip too soon.

Back to the gnocchi... Once seared on one side, flip and sear on the other.

  While this happens, you can add things like herbs and grated Parmesan cheese. 

 Once the gnocchi are cooked on the other side (2-3 minutes), they are ready to be plated.

The thing I didn't do (only because I forgot to pick up fresh sage and didn't feel like going back to the grocery store) is to make a SAGE brown butter sauce. To do so, follow all of the steps above, but chop up a good amount of fresh sage leaves and add them to the oil before adding the gnocchi.

Lastly, grate some additional Parmesan cheese on top and serve.

Another variation I do is to get some pancetta (or just plain bacon) and cook that in the saute pan before adding butter. Once the pancetta is cooked, drain the pan of fat (or use that delicious fat if the extra calories don't bother you) and then add the butter, some frozen peas, and the gnocchi. That way you have a more complete meal.

Anyway, I hope this was helpful. Like I said, this was the first time I made gnocchi and it was way easier than I thought it would be. I've been eating the leftovers, and freezing them has not diminished their flavor or fluffiness.

Enjoy!!