Let's just say I need some more practice.
Gnocchi dough was much more fragile than I ever imagined, and it's fiddly too. I think you need a very delicate hand to work the dough, and then the cooking takes some work too. Too long in the boiling water and the little parcels fall apart, destroying all your hard work.
Well, hard work is maybe a bit much. There's really not much effort involved -- just time.
Start by ricing your baked potatoes. I don't have a ricer, so I pushed them through an ordinary sieve with the back of a spoon. Worked okay.
You're left with really light, fluffy potatoes.
See why it's called riced? Looks similar, huh?
Then you add in the egg and flour, which is basically all gnocchi is. The recipe stresses as little flour as possible to keep the dough light, and I think I heeded this advice too closely. I'm sure a bit more flour would have resulted in a more stable gnocchi at the end.
I cut up the log and tried my best to roll them into classic gnocchi shapes, complete with fork tine marks. But the dough was really, really delicate, so they didn't roll very well.
Into the boiling water they go. They gnocchi are done when they float to the top, usually in just a minute or so.I ruined my first batch because I left them too long after they rose. They completely fell apart in the water (note the cloudy appearence in the pot). You have to watch gnocchi like a hawk!
I served them with some browned butter and sage sauce. A pretty hearty meal, if a little disappointing. (One thing I didn't particularly like about this recipe is that it called for the gnocchi to be refrigerated before boiling, which I did. Problem was, because the gnocchi actually cook so fast, they rose to the top but weren't hot all the way through. Next time I will probably take them out of fridge a bit early to warm up first.)Jamie Oliver's Potato Gnocchi
Makes a whole batch for 2-3 people (but adapted for just me)
6 medium potatoes
Olive oil
Nutmeg, grated
1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
Good grind of pepper
1 egg yolk
1-2 handfuls of plain flour
Cornmeal or semolina flour
1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 deg C.
2. Rub the cleaned potatoes with olive oil, prick them all over with a fork and lay them on a roasting tray. Place in the oven for 1 hour until they are crispy on the outside and cooked (fluffy, soft) on the inside.
3. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then cut them in half, scoop out the fluffy inside and place it in a sieve (or a mouli or ricer if you have one of those - I don't!).
4. Press the potato through the sieve into a large bowl so that it looks like 'grated' potato. Don't be fooled -this is the start of wonderful dry mash
5. Add the nutmeg, salt, pepper and egg yolk to the sieved potato. Add enough flour to bind the mixture. Mix together and knead with your hands until you have a dry, doughy consistency. Add more flour if too wet, and water if too dry.
6. Divide the dough into three pieces and roll each piece out on a floured surface into long tubes the thickness of a sausage.
7. Cut each of the tubes into 2.5 cm pieces, then press the tines of a fork into both sides of the gnocchi to give the characteristic ribbed marking.
8. Place them on a a plate or tray sprinkled liberally with semolina or cornmeal, and allow to sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes to set.
9. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drop the gnocchi into the water - how many you can fit in the pan depends on the size of the pan, because you don't want them sticking together. I used 10 in my pan.
10. The gnocchi are done when they rise to the surface of the boiling water.
11. Drain gently and carefully....otherwise they will end up as mashed potato! You can either use a slotted spoon, or gently drain in a colander.
12. Serve with whichever sauce you fancy - a tomato sauce, or grated cheese, or just tossed in butter and sage.
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