Cookbook Challenge: Week 32, Potato

Recipe: Gnocchi
From: Made in Italy

Cookbook Challenge... Week 32... Theme: potato... I made gnocchi.... blah blah blah....

My mind is a bit fried tonight. This morning I got out of bed early, made gnocchi, baked muffins, baked a banana cake, and went out to a 1 year old birthday party, where I drank bubbles, and ate far too much cheese and cake.

The early start, combined with far too much sugar, has left me feeling a frazzled, so I'll keep this post short and sweet.



The theme for this week's Cookbook Challenge is potato, and when I asked Alastair what I should make, he replied, "Gnocchi!". I made gnocchi for the first time the other month, but since I couldn't think of anything else I wanted to make, gnocchi it was.

This time I followed a recipe from a different cookbook, and it worked out pretty well. I managed to roughly make the gnocchi shape by rolling it over a fork - unlike last time when it was too soft to shape. Oh! And I bought a food mill, so it was much easier this time. Whoo hoo for not having to push potato through a fine sieve!

We had the gnocchi for lunch so I sauteed some mushrooms with garlic and butter to have with it. I have to say, it was pretty good! The gnocchi turned out quite well too, fairly light and fluffy. And if we hadn't eaten such a filling, carbalicious lunch, I'm sure the bubbles, cheese and cake would have put me in a worst state. As it is, I think I'm done for the evening. Thank you and good night!

See previous Cookbook Challenge posts here.



Gnocchi

From Made in Italy

1kg starchy potatoes
2 small eggs, lightly beaten
about 320g plain flour
pinch of salt

Wash the potatoes, and cover with cold water in a pot. Bring the water to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Let the potatoes cook until they are soft (about 45mins - 1 hr depending on the size). Drain the potatoes - you may want to put them in a hot oven at this stage to dry them out.

While the potatoes are still hot, peel them and put them through a sieve/food mill. (I found it easiest to hold the potato with tongs and peel the skin off with my fingers.) Put them in a bowl or on your work surface and create a well in the centre. Add the egg, pinch of salt, and three quarters of the flour. Mix well and as soon as the dough comes together, stop. Only add the rest of the flour if you think it needs it. Don't overwork the dough.

Dust your work surface with flour and flatten your dough into a rough square about 1.5cm thick.

With a knife, cut the dough into strips about 1.5cm wide. Roll each piece lightly until it is cylindrical.

Lay two or three cylinders next to each other and then cut through them at the same time , cutting them into 1.5cm wide pieces. Repeat with the rest of the cylinders.

Take a fork and push each piece of dough on to the prongs, so that it rolls itself up and is marked with lines. Repeat with all the pieces.

To cook, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add the gnocchi, stirring until they rise to the surface (a minute or so). Lift them out with a slotted spoon and serve with your choice of sauce.

Gnocchi party: potato gnocchi with blue cheese sauce

Welcome to the gnocchi party! I am just turning up on time to the party - but in my defense it has been a busy week. My mother-in-law Annette, and her husband Terry, have been visiting, and so we have been out all week (it has been a major eating week!).

A few weeks ago, Penny from Addictive and Consuming rounded up several interested bloggers for a gnocchi party. Everyone was to make gnocchi, following the theme "unami", and post it oh, right about now!

I have never made gnocchi before, but being a carboholic, I love it. The recipe I followed was from The Cook's Companion, and it was very straight forward and easy to make for a gnocchi beginner.

Potato gnocchi with blue cheese sauce

Adapted from the Cook's Companion

Serves 6-8

For the gnocchi:

salt
1 kg potatoes - Stephanie recommends Toolangi delight, desiree or nicola
300g-325g plain flour

For the blue cheese sauce:

125g blue cheese
1/2 cup milk
20g butter
freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons cream

Give the potatoes a good wash, and then place them in a large pot of water until tender. Drain and peel.



Pass the potatoes through a food mill or ricer directly on to a clean work surface and sprinkle with salt. I don't have a food mill/potato ricer so I used a steamer basket that has large holes. It took AGES. But my arms got a good workout!

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil in preparation for cooking the gnocchi.



With one hand, sprinkle the potato with flour and, using the heel of the other hand, work it in. Be as quick and deft as possible (I wasn't either of these things!). Continue until all the flour is incorporated - I only used 2/3 of my flour. Having never made gnocchi before, I wasn't sure how stiff/sticky it was supposed to be, so I just stopped when it didn't seem to want to take any more flour.



When the cooking water is boiling, roll the potato mixture into a long rope and cut into 1cm pieces.



Roll each piece across the curved side of a fork using one finger to create the traditional shape. I had NO IDEA what I was doing here so my gnocchi were all weirdly shaped!

Lower the heat for the pot of water until it is simmering. Drop in some gnocchi, and wait a few minutes until they rise to the surface. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, drain for a moment over the pot, and tip into a bowl (into a warmed oven to keep warm if you're making lots). Repeat with the remaining gnocchi.

I served the gnocchi with a blue cheese sauce. The sauce should be hot on the stove while you're cooking the gnocchi. Here's the recipe for the sauce:

Combine the cheese, milk, butter and pepper in a heavy-based frying pan over a gentle heat and cook until thick and creamy. Add the cream, increase the heat a little, and cook, stirring, until the sauce starts to thicken. Keep warm while you cook the gnocchi.



When all the gnocchi is cooked, pour the sauce over it, shake gently and serve.

For my first time making gnocchi, I was rather pleased with them. They were (relatively!) light, and delicious with the blue cheese sauce. I did find the sauce rather strong so a bit less blue cheese or less sauce over the gnocchi would be a good idea next time. And I'm sure there will be a next time - since I now know how easy gnocchi is to make. I might buy a potato ricer first though!

Check out the other gnocchi party attendees:

Gnocchi Gnudi made by our lovely host, Penny from Addictive & Consuming
Braised Beef Short Ribs Adobo on Potato Gnocchi made by Divina from Sense & Serendipity
Pan-fried Pumpkin Gnocchi with Truffle Paste and Basil made by Mardi from Eat, Live, Travel, Write
Chocolate-filled Plantain Gnocchi, with chillies for Dessert made by Ozoz from Kitchen Butterfly
Malfatti a la Al Di La made by Trix from Tasty Trix
Tuna & Anchovy sauce gnocchi with roasted vegetables made by Conor from Hold the Beef
Gnocchi di Patate con Funghi e Salvia made by Mellie from Tummy Rumbles
Gnocchi Chicken Tikka made by Shirley from Enriching your kid
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Nori Butter made by Natasha from Five Star Foodie
Gnocchi in creamy mushroom sauce made by Christine from Christine's Recipes

Jamie inspired roast lamb

This (rather unattractive) roast lamb was inspired by a recipe in Jamie Oliver's book, Cook With Jamie. In the book, he has a recipe for Mad Moroccan lamb (page 170 if you have it).

Jamie's recipe looked wonderful, but rather involved, and it included cous cous. I adore cous cous, but the Boys are not fans. But I liked the idea of the spices, especially since we all have colds. Subtle flavours are a bit lost on us at the moment.

I served the lamb with balsamic chickpeas (adapted from Jamie's recipe) and roast potatoes. For the potatoes, I parboiled them whole, then cut them in half and tossed in a glug of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, chilli flakes plus a good seasoning of salt and pepper. They went into the oven for half an hour.

The lamb was too well done for my liking, but it still tasted good. I'm an "bit of this, bit of that" kind of cook, so truthfully I have no idea if all the spices and stuff I put in are necessary for yumminess. Possibly not, so consider the recipe below a guide more than anything!




Jamie inspired roast lamb with balsamic chickpeas and roast potatoes

Serves 6-8

For the lamb

1 x 2kg shoulder of lamb
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
2 teaspoons chilli flakes
6 large cloves of garlic
Zest from one lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt

For the chickpeas

1 large red onion, peeled and sliced
1 cinnamon stick
salt and pepper
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
100ml good quality balsamic vinegar
200ml water

Preheat the oven to 220 degree C. Score the lamb in a criss cross pattern about 2.5cm apart.

In a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic cloves with the salt.

In a dry pan, toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and black mustard seeds over a medium heat until fragrant. Tip them into the mortar and pestle and add the chilli flakes. Crush it all together, then add the lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix it all up with a spoon, it should be like a paste. Rub this all over the meat, making sure you get it into the cuts. Put the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan and put into the oven for about 1 & 1/2 hours (mine went in for 2 hours which was too long unless you like well done meat). After the lamb is cooked to your liking, take it out of the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

For the chickpeas, heat some olive oil in a large saucepan and fry your onions and cinnamon with a pinch of salt and pepper for about 15 minutes or until softened. Don't hurry this. Add the chickpeas with the water and the vinegar. Simmer on a medium heat until nice and thick, then remove from the hob and serve with slices of the roast lamb.