Gnocchi

[Anonymous]

( oh, and I always peel my sweet potatoes first so can't help you there)

[Anonymous]

You can usually find frozen gnoicchi at places that carry or make pasta like Vace's, and they are generally fine. I also make mine on occasion but would have two thoughts that differ on previous poster. First, when you are starting out, stick to potato, they work the best, and one problem you can have when you mix things up is they will fall apart and you will be out of luck for fresh pasta. Squash are fine but you would never (or rarely perhaps) find squash gnocchi in Italy, ricotta yes, squash no. Second, the whole point of gnocchi is to do the fork roll, and that part does not take very long once you get it down. It does not need to be perfect but it is essential, and kids can help -- just don't yell at them if they are not perfect.

[Anonymous]

You could do what I do and just go to Liberty Tavern in Clarendon and order theirs. they typically change out the preparation seasonally and it's delicious - the best gnocchi I've had locally. (their mussels tend to be damn good too.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: First, when you are starting out, stick to potato, they work the best, and one problem you can have when you mix things up is they will fall apart and you will be out of luck for fresh pasta. Squash are fine but you would never (or rarely perhaps) find squash gnocchi in Italy, ricotta yes, squash no. Second, the whole point of gnocchi is to do the fork roll, and that part does not take very long once you get it down. It does not need to be perfect but it is essential, and kids can help -- just don't yell at them if they are not perfect.

Having grown up eating wonderful gnocchi ( and other pastas) made by my immigrant Nonna I agree with the above. I was rolling gnocchi off a fork at five years of age.
The grooves are what hold the sauce.
Also using a ricer vice mashing the potatoes will improve the texture of your gnocchi. Taste and texture are more important than appearance.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

^^PP again. Just remembered something else. Nonna insisted on a good sized russet potato for her single batch of gnocchi. Russets have the proper starch. The prior poster's comments about knowing the proper texture prompted the memory. If one uses sweet potato or squash they will need more flour to get the proper dough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am so not trying to be holier than thou... But I don't think you could learn to make anything easier than gnocchi. Just take one of your your favourite starch (potato, butternut squash, sweet potato), roast or boil it till soft. Mash up. Add some salt, pepper, grated cheese. Add flour until dough forms. Knead until smooth. Roll into snakes. I "fork" mine for ridges before I cut because I can't be bothered to do them one at at a time. Then cut into little chunks. Boil some in salted water, freeze the rest. They're maybe not as pretty as the store bought ones, but ten times as tasty and one squash will make at least 2-3 meals worth of gnocchi.
It really doesn't take long if you don't feel the need to make the ultra perfect looking.

Or, the Trader Joe ones are pretty good. Don't overlook is the key.

Hey, PP!
Just wanted to say that I am a nanny, and you inspired me to try making homemade gnocchi according to your directionswith my charges. it is not something I ever ever would have tried, but it was a huge hit. The kids had a blast making "snakes" and they love love loved eating it. The little girl told me three times that I need to teach their mom "my" recipe, and the little boy told me that this dinner was "better than candy." Thanks for posting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so not trying to be holier than thou... But I don't think you could learn to make anything easier than gnocchi. Just take one of your your favourite starch (potato, butternut squash, sweet potato), roast or boil it till soft. Mash up. Add some salt, pepper, grated cheese. Add flour until dough forms. Knead until smooth. Roll into snakes. I "fork" mine for ridges before I cut because I can't be bothered to do them one at at a time. Then cut into little chunks. Boil some in salted water, freeze the rest. They're maybe not as pretty as the store bought ones, but ten times as tasty and one squash will make at least 2-3 meals worth of gnocchi.
It really doesn't take long if you don't feel the need to make the ultra perfect looking.

Or, the Trader Joe ones are pretty good. Don't overlook is the key.

OP here. Thanks for your thoughts and recipe. I have a big, honking butternut squash and 3 sweet potatoes sitting on my counter right now. I might just get inspired and try your recipe. Thank you! (And thanks for not scolding me about how I shouldn't be so lazy - blah,blah,blah. I really appreciated your tone

likewise, I also have a huge butternut squash and read this and thought, yeah baby! i'm making gnocchi! thanks for the recipe

[Anonymous]

And don't forget to season them with butter and sage

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so not trying to be holier than thou... But I don't think you could learn to make anything easier than gnocchi. Just take one of your your favourite starch (potato, butternut squash, sweet potato), roast or boil it till soft. Mash up. Add some salt, pepper, grated cheese. Add flour until dough forms. Knead until smooth. Roll into snakes. I "fork" mine for ridges before I cut because I can't be bothered to do them one at at a time. Then cut into little chunks. Boil some in salted water, freeze the rest. They're maybe not as pretty as the store bought ones, but ten times as tasty and one squash will make at least 2-3 meals worth of gnocchi.
It really doesn't take long if you don't feel the need to make the ultra perfect looking.

Or, the Trader Joe ones are pretty good. Don't overlook is the key.

OP here. Thanks for your thoughts and recipe. I have a big, honking butternut squash and 3 sweet potatoes sitting on my counter right now. I might just get inspired and try your recipe. Thank you! (And thanks for not scolding me about how I shouldn't be so lazy - blah,blah,blah. I really appreciated your tone [
likewise, I also have a huge butternut squash and read this and thought, yeah baby! i'm making gnocchi! thanks for the recipe

I'm so pleased they worked out! I know by true tradional standards, they're not "authentic ", but I don't think half of the shelf stable stuff is either. This will get easier and better with time. The recipe I posted is my "basic", but I embellish a lot now, adding spices, mixing starches, etc. as I posted originally, it may take you a few tries to get the feel of the dough, but once you have that, just play around - you almost can't go wrong! And even a bad batch tastes awesome