Ingredients
3 lb boiling potatoes, -=or=- mashed potatoes
3/4 cup flour (or more)
5 egg yolks
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt, or as desired
1 white pepper, to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
Directions
USING UNCOOKED POTATOES, boil them, unpeeled, in salted water until
soft. Or cook them in a microwave according to oven directions or
bake in a conventional oven. Drain boiled potatoes. Peel potatoes
when they are cool enough to handle and puree them through a food
mill or potato ricer while still warm. Do not use a blender or food
processor for this because it excites the gluten in the potato and
makes a sticky mess. If using leftover mashed potatoes, place in a
small pot and heat them until they are warm. Transfer potatoes to a
mixing bowl, add the yolks and mix. Add nutmeg, salt, pepper and 3/4
cup of flour. Knead together and add the remainder of the flour if
necessary, bit by bit, kneading until a slightly sticky consistency
is attained. Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Form the dough
into sausage-like rolls about the thickness of your thumb. Cut into
pieces about 1-inch in length. Using a fork, flatten the pieces so
that the tines leave an imprint in the gnocchi. Keep a glass of water
nearby to clean the fork. Meanwhile, fill a 3-quart pot with salted
water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so that the water is boiling
at a gentle roll. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water, about 16
at a time. They will sink to the bottom but will rise to the surface
after a minute or so. Continue to cook for another 15 seconds.
Immediately remove with a slotted spoon to a colander. Sprinkle with
a little olive oil, mix gently and transfer to a heated platter.
Continue until all the gnocchi are cooked. Serve the gnocchi
ungarnished as a side accompaniment to roast meat or poultry.
Servings: 8 servings
Potato Gnocchi Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Written recipes as an idea can be traced far back into history, in truth as far back as the ancient Egyptians, and maybe further still. Interesting though that maybe, mostly, these ancient cook books were just simple hieroglyphic instructions for meal preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe found, according to historians are a few stone tablets in ancient Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making drinkers feel `wonderful`. Continuing our culinary historical journey, we find two books dating from the 14th Century : one book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Although the titles sound familiar, these books are unconnected to the curry that is served today, but instead accounts of the types of meals prepared by the chefs of the rich and powerful of those days. Over the succeeding few centuries, the powerful and rich houses tried to offer the most exotic banquets, and as a result the best cooks and their collection of recipes were much in demand. Even so, it wasn`t until the 19th century that cooking and recipe publications became popular. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated the best years of their lives to collating, trying out, and recording the recipes of their peers. The TV revolution gave us celebrity TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting us all to search through massive numbers of recipes like those on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Potato Gnocchi recipe.
