My ex-husband is half-Italian. If I had to say, I would guess the rest is one quarter aspiring gigolo, one quarter useless prick.
Though he has no relatives on the street corners or in prickville, he has a huge family base in Italy. Back in the five years we were happy, we visited them twice.
The first time, I absolutely loved them. They were warm, welcoming, and made me meals that only a a woman pregnant with quintuplets could finish. Or maybe Jessica Simpson.
If you discount impressions of characters from the show “Dallas,” they spoke exactly zero English. So when we went back the second time, I had learned Italian to surprise them.
Since the break-up, I have truly missed their sweet words and homestyle cooking. Lucky for me, I have a very talented friend who was willing to teach me to make homemade gnocchi and get a little taste of the thing I miss most about my ex – his family.
The recipe comes from my friend’s sweet and wonderful mom-mom, who must have been an excellent chef because these little bastards are delicious.
Ingredients:
7 large russet potatoes
2 egg yolks
1 tsp salt
4 c flour, plus more for kneading
Directions:
First, boil the potatoes, skins on, until they begin to crack.
If you value your fingers and have a low pain tolerance, let them cool for a few minutes. Then, peel off all of the skin.
Next, put the potatoes in a large bowl and either mash them, rice them, or use a food mill. Ricing and a food mill will give you the best and smoothest consistency, but we only had a masher and a whisk. Which make us more authentic, I think.
Once they are all mashed up, spread flour onto a large, clean surface. Place potatoes, egg yolks, salt, and flour on the surface.
Now you begin the kneading. It feels rather strange at first, since you’re trying to knead mashed potatoes instead of bread dough. Have faith and get back to work.
After a shit ton of kneading and some additions of flour, your potato mixture will begin to look more like dough. Keep kneading and adding flour until it no longer sticks to the surface.
Roll the dough into a ball. If you’d like, you can chill it for a while so it’s easier to work with. Cut off a small slice and using your hands, roll it into a thin cylinder, play-doh style. Cut your cylinder into equal chunks to form what will soon be your favorite little pillows of potato and happiness.
Now comes the weird part. You have to “dimple” the dough so that these babies can actually cook. To do so, roll each pillow individually using two fingers and a good amount of pressure. Don’t be shy.
Keep going until it’s all gnocchi-fied. This could take a while.
After it’s ready, cook it like you would pasta. You can freeze it if you are making it in advance. We tossed ours in marinara and put it in an oven-safe dish and topped it with cheese – because a plate of potato pasta was just too healthy to eat on its own. Bake until the cheese melts.
Then, once you are done marveling at its beauty, eat it. Eat it all and enjoy it. I am dreaming of leftovers as I am typing. It’s actually hard to contain myself.
And just for those of you who enjoy summaries, Pinterest, or both, here you go. You’re welcome.
Source: ringfingertanline.com (defunct blog)
