Servings: six.
Gnocchi’s plump, pillowy texture and mild, delicate flavor make them perfect for rich, hearty sauces like Pan-Seard Gnocchi with Browned Butter & Sage, Gnocchi with Creamy Gorgonzola Sauce, and Gnocchi with Sausage & Leek Ragù. In general, meat sauces are a fantastic match, but butter and cream-based sauces work well, too.
In Italy, gnocchi are usually served after appetizers (antipasti) as a first course (or primo piatto), instead of pasta. And they’re followed by a meat and vegetable course (secondo piatto and contorno). When Italians eat gnocchi this way, the portions tend to be on the small side. However, gnocchi can just as easily be served as a main course, preceded or followed by a light green salad. The servings here are for gnocchi served as a main course.
Make Ahead Tips
You can serve freshly made gnocchi right away or within a couple of hours, or you can freeze them for later use. Put the gnocchi in the freezer while they’re still on the baking sheets and freeze until they are hard to the touch, at least one hour. Transfer them to a large zip-top bag or several smaller bags and freeze for up to two months. Cook frozen gnocchi in boiling water in two batches. Frozen gnocchi cause the temperature of the cooking water to drop, so they’ll fall apart before the water returns to a boil if there are too many in the pot. Don’t refrigerate fresh gnocchi for more than two or three hours, as they tend to ooze water and become soggy.
To save time, skip the fork:
Classic Italian homemade gnocchi are pressed on a fork to curl them and impart the traditional ridges. To save time, I just cut them in small squares and leave them as cute little pillows. I think they look prettier, and they’re a lot less fussy to make.
Question: why do you peel the cooked potatoes vs peeling them before cooking?
So, I was reviewing your recipe again and noticed that you don't specify how long you should saute` or boil them for.
Normally when I boil gnocchi I just boil them until they float and then transfer them to the pan I cooked the sauce in for a couple minutes before putting them in a serving dish, but I was curious if you have a different method for determining their proper level of doneness.
When I saute` them I am a bit more confident that they're done when they get a nice sear on them.
I love the idea of simplifying the process by skipping rolling the gnocchi with a fork. But there are some major pro's that come with using the fork. 1) most forks are 3/4 of an inch wide which make it a good measuring utensil and helps make sure that all of your gnocchi are the same size so they cook evenly. 2) if you hold your fork in one hand and your cutting tool of choice in the other you can measure your gnocchi with your fork hand cut your gnocchi with your knife hand and roll the gnocchi out of the way with your fork hand while making those neat little grooves in each little piece without taking any extra time out of your busy schedule. And 3) I think the best reason for making those little grooves in the gnocchi is that they give the gnocchi some texture and helps it hold onto more of the sauce. But any way you decide to do it with or without the grooves gnocchi is definately best from scratch. I especially like using potatoe flour instead of wheat for a gluten free version but this method is best if you saute the gnocchi before adding your sauce because it can fall apart on you if you boil it since there aren't any gluten proteins to hold it together.
I'm wondering just how much this recipe makes, in relation to a pack of store-bought gnocchi. Most store-bought packages are 16 ounces and I'm not really happy with the results of shelf stable gnocchi (although I've had luck with some of the frozen brands).
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