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Frozen Gnocchi – waiting for action (in a pot of boiling water and perhaps some pesto)

I’ve made a couple of batches of potato gnocchi this weekend. The first batch, made for a dinner party (it was a big hit) and I realized that gnocchi is a.) Easy to make b.) Deeelicious.

I made a second batch just so I could have some later. Uncooked Gnocchi freezes well, and can be popped into some boiling water for a quick meal at the drop of a hat.

You will need

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of cooked, peeled, potatoes (about 8 medium-ish)
• 2 1/2 cups of flour
• 2 tbsp salt

Equipment

• A large pot (for boiling potatoes)
• A large bowl (for mixing in)
• A wooden spoon (for mixing with)
• A food mill (or a grater)

How to

To make potato gnocchi, you will basically make a simple dough from potatoes and flour, rolled out into a snake, and cut into little little tasty dumplings.

Start by rinsing off your potatoes, and tossing them into a pot with a tablespoon of salt and enough cold water to cover. Potatoes are done when you can easily push a knife through the center. This should take about 20 minutes, but keep an eye on them.

When boiling potatoes, always start with cold water. If you try to save time by using hot water from the tap, you’ll end up with mushy, overcooked potatoes. (The hot water starts cooking the outside of the potato before the inside begins to cook at all).

If you want to cook (and eat) your gnocchi right you’ll want to have a large pot of generously salted water ready to put on the boil once the potatoes are finished. By the time you’ve made your first batch of dumplings you can cook them immediately.

Once the potatoes are done, drain and rinse them with cold water and then peel.

It is much easier to peel a hot potato by using a dish towel. Place a potato in the towel and gently rub it. The peel will slide right off.

To create the dough, you will need to grate the potato into small pieces. A food mill does a great job of this (it’s my favorite new toy that doesn’t have batteries)

The model I purchased has neat little feet which fit it on the top of a bowl or pot so you can mill your food into someplace useful instead the floor.

Turn the crank, and the potatoes are reduced to a rice-like pile of pre-dough.

You can use a grater to break down your potatoes, or gently use a potato masher to break the potatoes down into smaller bits. Don’t mash to much. Don’t use a blender (or you’ll have paste).

Ideally, you’ve grated your potatoes into large bowl so now you can add about a cup and a half flour. Using a large (preferably) wooden spoon, gently mix the flour and potato together until it all comes together into sort of a ball. If it seems too loose, add a little more flour.

Flour a work space, turn the dough out, and then knead the dough, adding flour as needed, for about 5 minutes, or until the dough makes a nice soft ball (not to firm, not sticky). Cut the dough into fourths, and cut each fourth in half to create 8 pieces.

Using your preschool clay skills, roll out each piece into a snake (about 3/4 of an inch), and cut it into pieces, about an inch wide each.

If you are hungry now, and you set your salted water to boil already, toss the gnocchi from each snake into the water. The gnocchi are cooked once they float to the surface of the water.

This will give you just enough time to roll out your next snake.

Use a slotted spoon to lift the gnocchi out of the water, and place in a bowl and cover with a lid or towel to keep warm (you may want to warm your bowl in the oven to help keep the gnocchi warm).

Dress your gnocchi in a little olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper (or some ugly pre-made red sauce from a jar).

If you want to stash gnocchi away for a pasta emergency, as you cut up the gnocchi, arrange them onto cookie sheets so they are close, but not touching (otherwise they’ll all stick together and you’ll have one giant mono-gnocchi). Place the cookie sheets in the freezer for about 2 or 3 hours.

After the gnocchi are frozen, pop them off the cookie sheet, double-bag and place them back in the freezer for up to a month.