Potato Gnocchi

I finally took a picture of my cooking!  Here are my gnocchi, which are pretty easy to make but are time-consuming because of shaping them.  A potato ricer makes it extremely easy to process the potatoes.  Basically, it's a larger version of a garlic mincer and has the same purpose, to extrude the potatoes through small holes.  

Ingredients:

2 lbs. (2 oz.) whole baking potatoes

1 beaten egg

2 1/4 c. flour

pinch of salt

Preparation:

1.  Boil potatoes whole with skin in salted water until cooked.

2.  Once cooked, drain potatoes and then peel them; being careful not to burn yourself.

3.  Pass potatoes through a potato ricer and into a bowl.

4.  Add flour, egg and a good pinch of salt.

5.  Mix until you have a nice pliable ball of dough.

6.  Prepare a work area and dust it with flour.

7.  Take dough, a piece at a time, and roll it out with your hands until you have rolls 3/4" in diameter.

8.  Cut tubes of dough into pieces about 1" long.

9.  With a fork, holding tines against a work surface, use your fingers to press a piece of dough gently against the fork and roll it slightly then letting it fall to the table.  (I found it helpful to hold the fork with your left hand, if you right-handed, and roll the dough against the tines)

10.  The result will be gnocchi with an indent on one side from your finger and pattern on the other side from the fork.

11.  Handle the gnocchi carefully so they don't lose their shape.  Place them on a lightly flour plates.  Keep them apart so they don't touch one another or they'll stick together.

12.  Bring a pot of water to boil and then add the gnocchi carefully a plate or two at a time.  When they float to the surface, they're ready and just remove them with a slotted spoon and set them in strainer to drain excess water.

Serve gnocchi with a pesto sauce, sage and butter sauce, ragu or tomato sauce.  

Another Italian Dinner

Goulash is originated from Hungary, but made its way over to Germany, Austria, and the northern region of Italy.  Goulash is a spicy dish made of beef, onions, and paprika.  Its name comes from Hungarian gulyás (pronounced goo-yash), the word for a cattle herdsman.  I enjoyed goulash growing up in Germany.  My mom would make goulash occasionally and pour it over spatzla, an egg noodle pasta.  It is one of my favorite dishes.  And so my attempt to make it tonight and it turned out really good.  The meat was really tender since we left it on a low flame for three hours.  As a side dish, I made an orzo pasta salad with yellow peppers and peas.  Orzo is "barley" in Italian and is made of hard wheat semolina, though it looks like rice.  

Goulash

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. stewing beef cut in 1" cubes

1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil

3 medium white onions, sliced thinly

1 garlic clove, minced

2 bay leaves 

3 Tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. marjormam

2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 c. canned plum tomatoes

zest from one lemon

salt to taste

3 chilies (optional)

Preparation:

1.  Slice the onions thinly and sauté them in oil until they are soft.  If they get too dry add a little water or good meat broth so they don't brown.

2.  Once the onions are ready, add the paprika and mix it in well.

3.  Then add meat, cumin, marjoram, lemon zest, bay leaves, garlic, a good healthy pinch of salt, and tomatoes.

4.  Cover and cook on low flame for 3-4 hours.  Mix occasionally to be sure meat doesn't stick or get too dry.  Salt to taste.  

5.  Serve and eat!

Makes about 5-6 servings.  

Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

3 c. hot cooked orzo (1 1/2 c. uncooked rice-shaped pasta)

1 c. frozen green peas, thawed

3/4 c. (3 oz.) crumbled feta cheese

1/4 c. chopped parsley

3 Tbsp. balsalmic vinegar

2 Tbsp.  extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to coat.  Cover bowl and chill for one hour.

Makes 6-8 servings.  

Linquine alla Carbonara

Last night, I made us a Italian dinner which I haven't cooked in awhile. It called for prosciutto.  It didn't specify type, so I went for prosciutto crudo.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 oz. pancetta or very lean bacon, sliced into 2 x 1/4" strips
3 oz. prosciutto, sliced into 2 x 1/2" strips

1 cup thinly sliced scallions

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

black pepper

salt 

1 lb. linguine

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. parsley leaves

1.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add pancetta and sauté, stirring contstantly, until lightly golden and slightly crispy.  Add prosciutto and continue to sauté until softened, about 1 minute.  With slotted spoon, transfer mixture to paper towel to drain.

2.  Pour off all but 2 Tbsp. of pan drippings.  Add scallions and sauté, stirring constantly, over medium heat until tender crisp for about 2 minutes.  As scallions are cooking, scrape bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen any fragments.  Return pancetta and prosciutto to pan and mix well; set aside.

3.  In small bowl, using wire whisk, beat egg yolks and heavy cream.  Add parmesan cheese and black pepper; whisk again until smooth.

4.  Cook pasta in 6 quarts of boiling water with 1 Tbsp. salt until al dente.  Drain in colander, transfer to bowl containing 1 Tbsp. butter and toss quickly.  Toss 1/2 of bacon-scallion mixture with pasta.  Immediately toss in egg-cheese mixture.  Spoon remaining bacon-scallion mixture on top and garnish with minced parsley.  Serve with additional freshly grated parmesan cheese.   

Enjoy!