Say "Gnocchi" Three Times Fast

Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce.



I have dear friends who can make gnocchi like it's nothing (Mukul, Kate, and Lisa- I'm talking to you!). Gnocchi is something I love to eat but the process to make it always intimidated me. When I outted myself as a new vegetarian, people from all over began sending me links to recipes. This one was sent to me from my friend, Lisa, who found it on the Kitchen Boss site.

What follows is the recipe from the site along with my pictures as I attempted to cook out of my comfort zone. I made minor changes to make the recipe vegetarian, and also made suggestions to make it vegan. This is the first time I ever made gnocchi, as you will notice by my lame, mishappen little potato dumplings. They look goofy, but they were great.


Gnocchi:

3 large Russet potatoes
2 large egg yolks, beaten
1-2 cups unbleached white flour (may not use all)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Few gratings nutmeg (optional)
(You can omit the eggs to make gnocchi vegan. Here is an excellent recipe for gnocchi from Tyler Florence. Replace his egg white with the equivalent amount of Egg Replacer and you have vegan gnocchi!)




Gnocchi:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Prick potatoes and bake until done, 45 minutes to one hour. Remove from oven, and slash lengthwise through each potato, pressing short ends to open to release steam (you want the potatoes as dry as possible = less gummy gnocchi). When cooled enough to handle but still quite warm, scoop out the potato flesh and force through a ricer. Measure out 3 lightly scooped cups (do not pack) and spread out into a rectangle on a clean board or counter. Allow potatoes to cool until warm room temperature.

2. Sprinkle with salt and grate over nutmeg. Drizzle the egg over potatoes, followed by 1/2 cup of flour. With a (metal) bench scraper, begin to lift and fold the potato mixture on to itself, cutting the flour and egg into the potato mixture. When almost incorporated (mixture will begin crumbling), sprinkle over another 1/4 cup flour , and repeat until mixture is in small crumbs. Lightly press the dough together into a ball and move it aside. Clean any sticky dough from counter with the scraper and cover with a light dusting of flour.

3. On the floured surface, lightly press the dough together and fold/knead just a few turns -- dough should be workable with some potato texture and not sticky. Adjust by adding more flour if necessary -- the less flour and handling needed, the more tender the resulting gnocchi.

4. Cut the dough into quarters. On a lightly floured board, roll one portion of dough into a long rope, about 1/2" wide. With the bench scraper, cut 1" pieces of dough from rope and place on a floured sheet pan -- these are your gnocchi.

5. Cook gnocchi at a gentle boil in a large pot of abundant salted water. Gnocchi are done when they bob to the surface and cook about a minute longer. Scoop from water and place in sauce.


Mushroom Sauce:

1¼ pound cremini mushrooms, wiped and trimmed
.07 ounce package dried porcini mushrooms (or equivalent weight loose)
2 cups Imagine No-Chicken broth
¼ cup dry white Italian wine
2 plump cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons Earth's Balance No-Soy spread
1 tablespoon white truffle oil (this is very strong- you may want to half this amount if you haven't had truffle oil before)
Fresh grated Parmesan to garnish (optional)
Salt
Fresh black pepper



1. Warm the No-Chicken broth and pour over the porcini mushrooms in a bowl. Allow mushrooms to soak at least 20 minutes to hydrate. When hydrated, remove the mushrooms, rinse and trim away any tough gritty bits if present. Coarsely chop the mushrooms and set aside. Filter the mushroom soaking liquid through cheesecloth, a paper or tea towel and reserve.

2. Slice the creminis. Heat a large sauté pan medium-high – you want it large enough to eventually hold both the sauce and cooked gnocchi. Add the olive oil. When shimmering, add the mushrooms and a good pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, and allow the mushrooms to exude their juices. Let the juices cook and reduce down until almost completely evaporated. Add the porcini, garlic and red pepper. Continue to cook until well combined, everything smelling fragrant and beginning to dry out.

3. Add the wine and let reduce. Add ½ cup of the mushroom-soaked stock and let reduce until rich, add in another ½ cup stock, reducing again. Stir in the parsley. Taste and check for salt; correct if necessary. Turn off heat if the gnocchi has not yet finished cooking.

4. Meanwhile, begin cooking the gnocchi. Gently scoop the gnocchi as it’s done into the waiting mushroom sauce. Turn the heat to med-high and add another ½ cup of the stock, turning gnocchi to coat. If the gnocchi looks like it can absorb more stock, add in a little more -- you don’t want it to become too soft. Fold in the Earth's Balance and truffle oil. Garnish with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese if desired.