a whisk and a spoon

HHDD#14: Potato Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

Oh potato gnocchi, why do you torture me so?  Homemade gnocchi has been a bit of sore spot for me.  I’ve made the leadballs, and even worse, the disintegrators– the ones that fall apart in the simmering water, leaving you with a pot full of mess and no dinner.  So why am I even bothering to try again?  First, because I LOVE them (!), and second, because gnocchi is the theme for this month’s Hay Hay It’s Donna Day, hosted by Cafe Lynnylu.  It doesn’t hurt that I finally had one of my restaurant buddies show me a good technique, either.

Bake the potatoes in a salt crust (this helps them really dry out) and rice them while they’re still hot.  Then let them cool to room temperature before adding the other ingredients.  Making the gnocchi dough is definitely a “by feel” kind of thing.  Start with some flour and add more as you lightly knead the dough, until its no longer sticky and you can move it around easily.  Going overboard on the flour, however, will give you dense gnocchi.  Then let the dough rest before rolling and shaping.  I’ve never seen this step in any books, but it my friend swears that this is crucial to avoiding those aforementioned “disintegrators.”

Although R would rather have a heavy Bolognese covering his gnocchi, I decided to slice and dice a few veggies to go with them.  I quickly sautéed matchsticks of zucchini and carrot along with grape tomatoes, minced garlic, snap peas and corn in some butter and olive oil.  Then I threw in a splash of chicken stock and cooked it down to make it a bit saucy.  I tossed through the cooked gnocchi, and after a little s&p and grated Parmesan, my dish was done.  And it was light and delicious.

P.S.  I saw Donna Hay give a live demo in Sydney in June.  R was convinced she didn’t exist, and thought it just a brand-name.  She is in fact very real, is quite funny and cooked a lovely dinner party menu.

Potato Gnocchi – makes 4-6 servings

3 large baking potatoes
Kosher salt for crusting potatoes
1 1/2 egg yolks
4 oz all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 handful of Parmesan (grated)
salt and pepper to taste

-Scrub potatoes, dry with a tea towel and lightly crust with Kosher salt.

-Place on a baking sheet, and bake in a 400°F/200°C oven until baked though (about 45-60 minutes).

-Peel and rice potatoes while still hot.  Spread riced potatoes over a sheet tray to cool to room temperature.

-Add egg yolks, Parmesan and salt and pepper to cooled potatoes.

-Add in initial amount of flour and combine mixture with your hands.  Add in additional flour as needed until you have a cohesive dough that’s no longer sticky.  (I probably needed another 2 ounces or so for my batch…depends on the potatoes.)  Do not overwork.  Form into a large log and let rest on a floured surface, covered with a tea towel for 15-20 minutes.

-Break off pieces of dough and roll them into ropes on a floured surface.  (If the rope falls apart when you roll it, knead in a bit more flour.)  Use a paring knife or a metal bench scraper to cut the rope into 3/4″ pieces.  Toss in a little flour to keep from sticking together and move aside while you proceed with the rest of the dough.

-Bring a large pot of water to the boil.  Salt it as you would pasta water.  Cook gnocchi in batches to avoid overcrowding, and simmer until they float to the surface.  Remove with a slotted spoon.

**Extra uncooked gnocchi freezes well.  Spread them on a sheet tray in a single layer and freeze for about an hour.  Then put in a zip-top bag or airtight container for freezer storage.

Food Fight #2: Crêpes for Mum

My mother is a Dutch girl, born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  In her heart though, I think she is Parisian.  She spent time in studying in Paris during university and returned after graduation for a few more years.  She still speaks French fluently, attends Francophile events in Seattle and keeps up with the country’s politics and trends.

My mother is a very good home cook.  Although she may sometimes regard cooking as a bit of a chore, you’d never know by her food.  French, of course, and easy to make, crêpes are a favorite of hers, not to mention mine.  Both sweet andsavory, crêpes are certainly delicious.  Thus,  I am submitting a crêpe dish as my entry for the second installment of Food Fight (Your Mother’s Favorite Dish), hosted by Allen at Eating Out Loud.     

Here, I’ve made them for dinner.  I used a filling of smoked turkey, Swiss cheese and roasted asparagus.  I already had these ingredients in the fridge just waiting to be used up, but really you could use almost any tasty filling combination.  A nice melting cheese is always a good inclusion.

Knowing that a whole batch of crêpes would be too much for just two of us to eat in one sitting, I made a very basic recipe that can accommodate either sweet or savory fillings (i.e., no sugar and not too much salt).  That way I could save the extras, wrapped and refrigerated of course, and turn them into dessert or breakfast crêpes (a little apricot jam in the center– oh my gosh!) within a couple of days.  The recipe I used is attributed to Gourmet Magazine, but can be found here on Food Network’s website.

The batter comes together in a snap– let your blender or food processor do all the work.  It needs a little time to rest before it’s used, and it can even be made the day before.  It is true that the first crêpes out of the pan is often not too pretty, but hey, that’s the “cook’s treat,” right?  Now that I think about it, a little triangular stuffed crêpe is almost like a wrapped present.  Happy Mother’s Day, or Fête des Mères!

Food Fight #1: Poached Egg with Spinach and Buckwheat Polenta

When I saw that Eating Out Loud is hosting a new monthly event called “Food Fight,” with the first theme paying homage to the egg, I thought it the perfect opportunity to try to recreate that poached egg dish I had at Auge about a month ago.  I’m usually kind of creeped out by runny eggs (I even like my fried eggs well done), but this was really good!  It was served as a starter at the restaurant, but was plenty enough for a dinner at home.  How I managed to eat three more courses afterward that night is somewhat frightening. 

I thought that maybe a couple of the ingredients would be hard to find, but that really wasn’t the case.  One trip to the farmers’ market for eggs and spinach, and another to the health food store for buckwheat polenta, and I had what I needed for the main components of the dish.  The garnishes on Auge’s version were truffle parmesan and chestnut butter.  I found truffle pecorino at a small cheese shop in the neighborhood, and thought that a fine substitute.  As for the chestnut butter, I have no idea what that is, and used browned butter instead.

Not generally being a fan of oozy eggs, I must admit that I’d never poached one myself before.  On the first couple of tries, the whites where all over the place like little slips of wet tissue…not nearly the perfectly round little package I wanted for a public showing.  I never did get it just right (maybe next time), but I didn’t want to go through a whole dozen on one dinner.  My end result was perhaps slightly overdone, but delicious nevertheless.  Anyway, I expect there are many seasoned egg poachers out there who can handle this with ease.

The hardest part about this dish was getting everything together at once, since polenta turns into a stiff gunky mess if it sits around.  My solution was to have the spinach washed and waiting for me and the water for the egg heating when I started the polenta.  Then when I thought the polenta was almost finished, I just ignored it for a couple minutes on low heat (I know you are supposed to stir it constantly, but it came out just fine) while I slipped the eggs into simmering water and wilted the spinach.  Then I loosened up the polenta with a splash more water, finished it off with a knob of butter and some parmesan, and it was ready to go. 

By the way, a better and less nerve racking solution to the issue of timing is to recruit help.  My help was already busy watching The Biggest Loser, but gladly abandoned the TV for the table when dinner was ready. 

Poached Egg with Spinach and Buckwheat Polenta – makes 2 servings

– For the buckwheat polenta:  Heat a few tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan.  Once melted, add in half of a medium yellow onion (diced) and saute until translucent.  Then pour in 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Slowly whisk 1 cup of buckwheat polenta into the boiling water.  Reduce the heat to low and stir fairly constantly for about 30-35 minutes.  Add a little extra water if it starts to become too thick.  When done, take the pan off the heat and stir in about 1/4 cup grated parmesan, 1 tablespoon extra butter and salt to taste.  (This actually made more polenta than I needed, so I put the extra into a rectangular plastic container and refrigerated.  It will be firm enough to cut into squares, lightly fry in olive oil, and pair with a sauce for another dinner.)

– For the spinach:  Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat, and then add in a clove of whole smashed garlic (just for flavor–remove it at the end).  Add in washed spinach (preferably still a little wet), and wilt down.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cover to keep warm until service.

– For the eggs:  Crack each egg into a separate small cup, being careful not to break the yolks.  Let the eggs sit at room temperature while heating 2-3 inches of water to a bare simmer in a large shallow pan.  When just starting to simmer, add in a splash of white vinegar.  Carefully slip in eggs, one at a time.  Simmer for about three minutes and remove with a slotted spoon.

– To serve:  Spoon polenta in center of plate.  Top with sauteed spinach and poached egg.  Drizzle browned butter around polenta and top with black pepper and shavings of truffle pecorino.