Grate Gnocchi.

Becca Wilson
Oct 31, 2017
5 min read

I do know how you spell 'great' by the way - it's just you need to grate the potato to make gnocchi ha! I am so bad at these puns, but they do make me laugh.

As you know, I like to browse through recipes and recently I found Jamie Oliver's Gnocchi alla Trapanese (a Sicilian variation of the genovese pesto) - mmm it definitely stuck in my mind. I love making pesto and this almond pesto just sounded divine. On Sunday I made this almond pesto rather than my usual green or red pesto. I blitzed together 60g roasted flaked almonds, 2 cloves garlic, 6 tbsp oil, seasoning to taste, 90g fresh basil and 50g parmesan. The almond taste was quite significant and it was a sharp but fresh pesto. As Jamie O states in his trapanese recipe, 'Pesto simply means ‘paste’, so don’t limit yourself to basil and pine nuts – you can swap in any soft herbs, nuts or oils that you like (just remember the hard cheese and garlic are essential)'.

Now, what to serve with the pesto...like Jamie O suggests, gnocchi seems perfect. In some Supermarkets you can buy GF gnocchi but it can be £3 for 200g. That settled it for me - I need to learn to make my own. I made homemade gluten free gnocchi with Scott's mum a few years ago but we wanted to try making it again. It is a pretty well known fact that it can be fiddly to make, and possibly even harder to make using GF flour. We like a challenge though.

I'd been thinking about gnocchi and looking up recipes, but first, a Sunday walk was needed. Scott and I took a drive out to Windwick Beach in South Ronaldsay. We knew there would be a chance of spotting seal pups and I was feeling hopeful. There were a few flickers of white amongst the stones - wow what a sight when we got closer. We spotted about 12 adults and 8 pups. We didn't want to get too close to the pups but we did get a pretty awesome view. There was one pup in particular that was very keen to have its photo taken. A very memorable walk.

Once we got back it was kitchen time. Scott's mum found an easy-to-follow gnocchi recipe:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1624/villa-valentinas-potato-gnocchi

We worked together and it was a lot easier to go through all the stages with two people, so if you're making it - ask a friend for help! It did take about two hours overall to rustle up dinner, but the gnocchi and pesto were 100% worth the time. We all agreed. We served up some roast veg too.

Here's how to make your own GF gnocchi:

Ingredients

(Serves 8)

1kg floury potatoes, Marfona are best but you can use King Edward
3 large eggs, beaten
300g GF flour or less, depending on the texture of the potatoes. We used 1/2 plain and 1/2 rice flour.

Method:

Cook the potatoes and lower them whole in their skins into a pan of salted boiling water, bring back to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes until just soft. Test with a sharp knife – you should have to push the knife in, it should not slide in easily, otherwise the potatoes will be overcooked and will have absorbed too much water. Peel them quickly, as the cooler they get, the less fluffy they become.
Using a mouli on a medium setting, press the potatoes into a bowl. Pass the potato through the mouli a second time, letting it fall on to the work surface. This second pressing is to make sure that the mixture is lump free, and also lets more air in. If you don’t have a mouli, you could use a potato ricer, but only if it has small holes.
Make a hollow in your pile of potatoes, then pour in the egg and sprinkle over some of the flour. Start to blend everything with your hands, adding more flour but as little as you can get away with (you want the flavour of the potato to come through, rather than that of the flour). Work carefully and quickly, as the more you handle the dough, the harder and bouncier it will become. You need the same lightness you would use for pastry.
You should now have a soft dough that holds together, doesn’t feel sticky and can be easily shaped.
Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll a piece at a time into long, thumb-nail thick cylinders on a lightly floured surface, again working lightly and quickly. As you roll you will also be gently stretching the dough. Keep the surface well floured as you don’t want the gnocchi to stick.
Cut the dough into thumb-nail long lengths. Some people don’t bother to shape and pattern them, but just cook them as they are. However, the shaping and patterning gives a hollow on one side and a pattern on the other that enables the sauce to cling better, and also makes each piece recognisable as a gnocco (a single gnocchi).
Roll the gnocchi in a little flour. Holding them very lightly, form each into a small concave gnocchi shape: hold them against the prongs of the back of a fork, pressing only firmly enough to get the imprint (not so firmly that they go through the prongs), then guide each one so it tumbles away from the fork. Use your thumb as a guide and your fingers to pick and curl the gnocchi up. Spread them on a large board until required.
Bring a large, deep pot of water to the boil. Working with a few at a time, drop in the gnocchi. Let them cook for 2 minutes, during which time they will bob back up to the surface, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon. Taste - they should be soft and light.

We only cooked half of the gnocchi, we have frozen the extra to use another time - maybe in a bake? We just left the cut gnocchi on a board, covered it with cling film and popped it in the freezer. It can be frozen for 2 months. If you have cooked the gnocchi and have leftovers, gently remove gnocchi and place into a bowl of ice cold water (ice bath) to cool down. Drain well and toss lightly with a touch of olive oil to prevent sticking. Store in a covered container and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

I hope that was helpful. I was pleasantly surprised how our gnocchi turned out. This makes a decent size portion that can be used in a number of flavoursome ways.

Cheers for now x gf v x

P.s. I just got my copy of 'Take One Veg' so be prepared for a few veggie delights from there.