GNOCCHI ITALIENNE

                      GNOCCHI ITALIENNE

Gnocchi italienne are a variety of pasta consisting of various thick, small and soft dough dumplings. It is a heartier Italian cuisine comes from Italy like polenta.

Preparation time- 1 hour

Cooking time- 10 minutes

Ingredients                                           Quantity

Pontiac potatoes                                  370g

Plain flour                                             70g

Salt                                                       to taste

White pepper                                       to taste

Nutmeg                                                to taste

Butter                                                   25 g

Egg yolk                                               1

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into even-sized chunks. Cook the potato pieces in boiling salted water until tender. Drain the potatoes well then place them in a moderate oven on a baking tray to dry the moisture from the potatoes. Sieve the flour onto a clean workbench and make a well in the center.

2. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, pass them through a sieve or mouli into a bowl and add the butter, egg yolk and seasoning and mix with a wooden spoon. Place the mashed potato into the well in the flour. Incorporate the flour into the potatoes, drawing the flour in as you work to form uniform, tender dough. The amount of flour needed depends on the moisture content in the potatoes.

3. Knead the dough lightly for about four minutes and then roll with your hands into a rope about ½ cm thick. Cut the rope into 2 cm pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Mark each ball on one side with the prongs of a fork or use a wooden butter paddle to shape the ribs.

4. Mark each ball on one side with the prongs of a fork or use a wooden butter paddle to shape the ribs. Place the rolled and shaped gnocchi pieces into boiling salted water and poach until the pieces float the top, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Drain well.

5. The cooked gnocchi can be placed in buttered serving dishes and sprinkled with melted butter and grated Parmesan to be gratinated under the salamander or can be served with any of the sauces suited to pasta.