Gnocchi... what is it, how do you like it, got a recipe for it?

Answer 1

Its a small dumpling.It is most often made with potatoes, though it can also be made from flour, squash, cheese or even polenta. Gnocchi is served much in the same manner as pasta, with sauce or some butter and sage or parmesan cheese.

Here's a recipe for you

Sauce Ingredients:

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 lbs plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley

Gnocchi Ingredients:

2 lbs whole baking potatoes
1 beaten egg
2 1/4 cups flour
pinch of salt

To prepare the sauce:

1 In a saucepan over low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, carrot and celery and fry gently for 5 minutes.
2 Add the tomatoes and the wine. Stir and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the sauce is thick and the liquid evaporates, about 50 minutes.

To prepare the gnocchi:

1 Steam the potatoes in their skins until tender, about 30 minutes.
2 Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer and into a bowl.
3 Add the flour, egg and a pinch of salt. Mix until you have a nice pliable ball of dough.
4 Prepare a work area and dust it with flour. Take the dough, a piece at a time, and roll it out with your hands until you have rolls about 3/4 inch in diameter.
5 Cut the tubes of dough into pieces about one inch long. With a fork, holding the tines against the work surface, use your finger to press a piece of the dough gently against the fork and roll it slightly. As the gnocchi are made, place them on another lightly floured surface.
6 Bring at least 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in a shallow saucepan. Drop the gnocchi, a few at a time, into the water. As soon as they rise to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon, draining well. Arrange on a warm serving dish. Continue cooking the gnocchi in the same manner.
7 As soon as all the gnocchi are ready, pour the hot sauce over them and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.

I love it though no body else in my family shares my passion for it so I can only indulge in it at an Italian friend's home who graciously always makes it for me whenever I visit.

Answer 2

It is a potato dough used the same as pasta, usually with a marinara sauce. I do not care for them, therefore I have no recipe to pass along, but go to any food or recipe site and u will find a recipe. Common dish that can even be bought in the freezer section of ur local grocery store. Gnocchi already made, all u add is the sauce. Happy cooking !

Answer 3

Gnocchi (Potato Dumplings) Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes (about 4) 3 large eggs 3 teaspoons salt pinch nutmeg 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed Preparation: Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling water until a fork easily pierces the center. Peel the potatoes. (To make the peeling of the hot potatoes a little easier, hold the potato with an oven mitt or kitchen towel and scrape out the flesh with a spoon.) Pass the potato flesh through a ricer or food mill. As you are ricing the potatoes, let them fall evenly in one layer onto a large pan,; this helps the potatoes cool and reduces excess moisture. Let cool, about 15 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to a clean workspace and pull them together, making a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the center; add 1 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of nutmeg. With your fingertips, work the potato and egg together to make rough dough. Sprinkle 1 cup of flour over the potato mix and gently combine. If the dough feels wet, add a bit more flour (up to 1 1/2 cups). Knead the dough until it is smooth and uniform, 3 to 4 minutes. If you are uncertain about the dough, pinch off an inch piece and boil it. If it is mushy you will need to add a bit more flour. Form the dough into a rectangle and cut it into 8 equal pieces. On a flat workspace, roll each piece into a ropelike cylinder, about 18 inches long and the width of your finger. This can be awkward at first, but glide your fingers out over the dough, working it back and forth while gently pulling outward. Lightly dust each piece with flour. Place 2 lengths of dough horizontally in front of you. With a knife, cut across the dough to make 3/4 inch pieces. Repeat with the remaining lengths. Spread the gnocchi in a single layer on a tray so they don’t stick together. To cook the gnocchi, bring the water to a boil with the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Gently add the gnocchi to the lightly boiling water and cook until the gnocchi float back up to the surface, 2 to 3 minutes.

Answer 4

Gnocchi is the Italian word for dumplings. They can be made of potato, semolina (durum wheat), flour, or ricotta cheese (with or without spinach). Although the dish is Italian, the word comes from a Germanic word for a knot (as in wood), possibly because of its short, squat shape.

Gnocchi are often listed among pasta dishes, although gnocchi has different ingredients and mode of preparation. They cook faster than normal pasta and can fall apart if overcooked.

Gnocchi can be purchased dried, or fresh in vacuum sealed packages. The fresh ones are generally considered to be superior. Most people buy their gnocchi premade, which are cooked just like fresh gnocchi. The classic accompaniments of gnocchi are a tomato sauce, a brown butter and sage sauce, or melted butter and cheese.

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Gnocchi

1 large baking potato (1 c mashed)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
8 teaspoons butter, clarified
1 cup romano cheese, grated
3 cups flour

Boil potato and mash. Combine potato with eggs and salt and whip until fluffy. Add ricotta cheese, butter, Romano cheese and flour. Knead until smooth. Shape into 1/2" rolls and cut into 1" lengths. Make impression with thumb in each piece, then lightly dust with flour.

Drop into boiling salted water and cook only until they rise to the surface. Drain and serve with tomato sauce and grated cheese. Note: Before cooking, gnocchi may be flash frozen on a cookie sheet, then place in plastic bag in freezer.

Answer 5

I have never had it

Gnocchi (pronounced /'ɲɔkki/) is the Italian word for dumplings; in Italian, gnocchi is the plural of gnocco, which literally means "lump". They can be made of potato, semolina (durum wheat), flour, or ricotta cheese (with or without spinach). One variety, gnocchi di pane, popular in the Friuli and Trentino-South Tyrol regions, is made from bread crumbs. Although the dish is Italian, the word comes from a Germanic word for a knot (as in wood), possibly because of its short, squat shape.

Gnocchi are often listed among pasta dishes, although gnocchi has different ingredients and mode of preparation. They cook faster than normal pasta and can fall apart if overcooked.

Gnocchi can be purchased dried, or fresh in vacuum sealed packages. The fresh ones are generally considered to be superior. Most people buy their gnocchi premade, which are cooked just like fresh gnocchi. The classic accompaniments of gnocchi are a tomato sauce, a brown butter and sage sauce, or melted butter and cheese.

In the Tuscan area of Italy, spinach-and-ricotta-flavored gnocchi are called strozzapreti, or priest-stranglers. According to popular local legend, a priest choked and died after eating too quickly, because the gnocchi were so delicious.

In Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, countries where Italian cuisine is especially popular, gnocchi (known as ñoquis and nhoque, respectively) are traditionally eaten on the 29th day of each month. This was the day before payday, when people were at their poorest. Gnocchi made a cheap and hearty meal. On these occasions, some people leave a banknote under the plate to attract prosperity. Now in Argentine communities outside the country, Argentines gather each month for "ñoquis del 29".

In a curious reversal of meaning, in Argentine and Uruguayan slang ñoqui has also become a way to denote a government employee that is listed in the payroll but only shows up to collect his or her paycheck around the 29th of each month.


Gnocchi Recipe
Source: Burt Wolf's Travels and Traditions, Trieste

Makes 4 serving

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

For the Gnocchi:

2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes (about 4)

1 large egg

3 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup more as needed

4 quarts water


RECIPE METHOD

FOR THE GNOCCHI: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes or until a fork inserted in the center comes out clean. To make the peeling of the hot potatoes a little easier, hold the potato with an oven mitt or kitchen towel and scrape out the flesh with a spoon. Puree the potato flesh through a ricer or food mill. As you are ricing the potatoes, let them fall evenly in one layer onto a large pan; this helps the potatoes cool and reduces excess moisture. Refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes.


Transfer the potatoes to a clean work space and pull them together, making a well in the center. Crack the egg into the center and add 1 teaspoon of the salt. With your fingertips, work the potato and egg together to make a rough dough. Sprinkle 1 cup of flour over the potato mix and gently combine. If the dough feels wet, add a bit more flour (up to 1 1/2 cups). Knead the dough until it is smooth and uniform, 3 to 4 minutes. If you are uncertain about the dough, pinch off an inch piece and boil it. If it is mushy you will need to add a bit more flour.


Form the dough into a rectangle and cut it into 8 equal pieces. On a flat work space, roll each piece into a ropelike cylinder, about 18 inches long and the width of your finger. This can be awkward at first, but glide your fingers out over the dough, working it back and forth while gently pulling outward. Lightly dust each piece with flour.


Place 2 lengths of dough horizontally in front of you. With a knife, cut across the dough to make 3/4-inch pieces. Repeat with the remaining lengths.


Spread the gnocchi in a single layer on a tray so they don't stick together, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, until ready to serve. To cook the gnocchi, bring the water to a boil with the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Gently add the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook until the gnocchi float back up to the surface, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the gnocchi and toss with Asparagus and Ham Sauce (see recipe) and Parmesan cheese.


NOTE: If you are going to freeze the gnocchi, add the full amount of flour to the recipe; otherwise they will be mushy when boiled.

Answer 6

Potato pasta. It is heartier than regular pasta. Here is one recipe: http://www.e-rcps.com/pasta/rcp/gnocchi/gn_potato.shtml

Answer 7

its potato dumplings. Its DELICOUS - especially when stuffed! for the best italian recipes you should go to www.barilla.com as they are very italian authentic!

Answer 8

I'd say to check any Italian sites.

Answer 9

its good stuff. just put your favorite pasta sauce on it. i think it cooks faster than pasta too but i could be wrong.

Answer 10

They are german. you boil them put butter on them