July 30, 2009 | Mama Smith

gnocchi

Poor minismith. It has received no love this year. If it’s any indication of what has received my attention and focus this year in it’s place, then you’d probably all agree, it’s a good thing.

Mothering, marriage, friendships, belief are just a few things that have taken precedence in 2009. Basically, everything has needed to be unravelled, in one sense or another, in order to be rebuilt as something stronger, richer and more dependent on the One who holds all this temporal stuff in his unfailing hands.

And so I’m not sure if I truly am “returning” to minismith, but for now I wanted to share a recipe. Just like old times :)

My sister and I have been wanting to attempt gnocchi after an amazing gnocchi experience in Asheville during a recent Girl’s Weekend Away. The daunting reports practically declared for us that our first few attempts would be a disaster. That it takes practice. That it takes skill to make gnocchi. That no amateur can whip up the perfect consistency, the perfect texture, the perfect ball of doughy goo on their first attempt.

Ha. We laugh in the face of defeat.

Last night we attempted Marcella Hazan’s Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi and people, it was AMAZING. It might not hold up to pro Italian chef standards, but we loved it. And that’s all that really matters when it comes to cooking for your family.

We made a tomato sauce with heavy cream (another recipe of hers) that really made it. I’ll share that recipe as well, which you’ll want to make first so it has the full 45 minutes to simmer. This is a fun, light summer meal in case anyone is tired of their summer salads and pastas. Enjoy :)

Tomato Sauce with Heavy Cream
from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

1/3 c. butter
3 TBSP of each – onion, carrot, celery – finely chopped
2 1/2 lbs fresh tomatoes or large can of good italian plum tomatoes with their juices
salt
1/2 c. heavy cream

Put everything in a saucepan, except for the cream. Simmer 45 min. then either use a hand-held blender to puree (EASIEST by far!) or put in a food processor. Add cream and keep warm until used for gnocchi.

Spinach & Ricotta Gnocchi
from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

1 package of frozen spinach
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP onion chopped very fine
2 TBSP chopped proscuitto
salt
3/4 c. of ricotta
2/3 c. flour
2 egg yolks
1 c. grated parm
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

First thaw spinach and drain, squeezing as much water out as possible. Then put butter & onion in a skillet until onions are soft, then add prosciutto until fully coated in butter. Add spinach, sprinkle with salt, and cook for about 5 minutes.

Dump spinach mixture in a bowl and let cool to room temp. I was antsy, so I put it in the fridge to cool down more quickly. After cool, add last 5 ingredients until thoroughly mixed and looks kind of doughy. As it cools, get a large saucepan of salted water boiling (the larger the better, because you can do more gnocchi at a time).

At this point, you’ll want to get some water in bowl for your hands because the dough is super sticky. They recommended flour, but that never works for me. If you get your hands damp it is MUCH easier to roll the dough small enough.

So you’ll want to make “small pellets”, the book says, that are about 1/2-3/4in. around. This sounds small, but it helps them cook more quickly and evenly, instead of staying too gooey inside. We put some parchment paper on a cookie sheet and dropped the dough ball right onto it, so they didn’t get too sticky.

Once you have all the gnocchi made, you’ll drop a few at a time into the water and cook for 3-4 minutes. They should initially sink, then start to float as they cook. Remove them with a slotted spoon and keep warm on a platter until you’re ready to eat.

When all the gnocchi are done, either toss them with the sauce and serve with shredded parm, or serve individually in bowls.

It doesn’t say you can freeze them, but I doubled the recipe so I could test it out and see if the gnocchi freeze well. Because come on, if you’re going to all that trouble, it’d be really nice to double it up and have some for next week or next month to pull out of the freezer, right?! I’ll let you all know if it works or not.

Let me know if you try it out and your thoughts!