Crispy gnocchi with grana padano

October 29, 2018 Published by Dina

 


Sometimes I have craving for crispy gnocchi without much of a sauce other than the oil or butter they were cooked in and of course a good shower of grated parmesan. I used to make gnocchi with russet potatoes but recently have been making then with Yukon gold and love the results. I now bake the potatoes rather than steam whole but had successful results either way. One thing you don’t want though is water logged potato so don’t boil them.

 

To egg or not to egg, that is the question. One more thing I changed in this recipe from my usual way of making gnocchi is adding an egg to the potatoes. I don’t know. Reading about it, it appears that in the Veneto they use egg, other places in Italy they don’t. Marcella Hazan, who is the Julia Child of Italian cooking says no eggs, apparently they make up for inferiority of ingredients and skills of the cook. Anyway, I though I’d try. it with an egg. You can leave the egg out if you wish but may need to to cut back on the flour to compensate for the reduced moisture content. Any thoughts on this are welcome.

 


 

 

 

 


Ingredients:


1 kg Yukon gold potatoes

1 egg

1/3 cup grated parmesan

Salt and pepper

1 3/4 cup “00” flour (more for dusting)


Directions:


Wrap the potatoes in foil and bake in 400ºF oven until cooked through.

As soon as they are cool enough to handle peel and then press the flesh through a potato ricer into a large bowl.

Add the egg and cheese and mix with a spatula.

Begin to add the flour 1/2 cup at a time mixing it in until you reach a dough consistency and the mixture is no longer sticky.

Don’t add too much flour and don’t knead too much, just enough so it holds together and can be rolled into logs.

Cut the dough into pieces and roll each into a log about 1/2″ in diameter or larger.

With a dough scraper or a knife cut the logs into  3/4″ pieces.

At this point you can leave the gnocchi as they are or roll the, against a gnocchi board to achieve the ridged surface. This time I left them plain.

Place the gnocchi on a lightly floured tray and dust with flour to keep them from sticking.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add enough salt to make the water salty.

While you wait for the water to boil melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet.

Add a few leaves of thyme, salt and pepper and keep warm but do not burn, turning the heat off if necessary.

When the water comes to a boil drop a handful of gnocchi into the pot and cook until they float to the surface. Once they float, cook them for another 15 seconds and then remove with a spider strainer into the butter-oil skillet.

Cook gently until golden.

To serve spoon into bowls, sprinkle with grated parmesan and chopped parsley and serve warm drizzled with a bit of the oil remaining in the pan.

 


 

 


 



 

 

 

 

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