Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a potato dumpling, now you do not want to get the potato to wet and I have seen propel bake the potatoes or steam them but what I do is boil them in there skins. I am not saying that it is the best way but it works for me. The art in making them really well I think is how you knead them and work them after the potato is cooked. Do not do the right amount of work and they fall apart when you cook them, do too much and they are hard. I can only tell by feeling them and it all depends on the potato and the flour. I whish I could write it down but I do not know how to, but let me try.

To make gnocchi you need
300g/10½oz floury potatoes
50g/2oz plain flour
Flour for dusting

For a simple fast tomato sauce
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finley chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 x 400/14oz can chopped tomatoes
A pinch of sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fresh basil leaves

With a recipe that has just two ingredients, it should be easy to make after all what could go wrong.

Get your potatoes and wash them and put them in a pan of salted water and bring it to the boil. Simmer the potatoes for about 10 to 15 minutes until you can get the knife in the potato. You do not want it to go all the way through but still have the very sliest resistant as you push it in to the potato. Then get the potatoes out of the hot water and I to a blow of cold water , you do not want the skins to split and start to lose the starch.

Once you have the potatoes cool so you can handle then you can stat to peal them. Now if you have a ricer use that if not grate them but bream them up in to a fine crumb. Now with all the peeling you will not have 300g /10½oz of potato any more but you should have 250g/8oz of potato and that is what you will need to make the Gnocchi.

Take the flout and place in on a clean work surface and then tip the potato on to the flour. Work ever thing together with you hands to start with so it combines and then once it has done that start to work it like a dough and knead it.

Cut the dough in to four and roll them in to long sausages. Then cut the sausages in to the right lengths about 2cm or 1in long . Make a patter on them with a fork by rolling them with the fork.
Now all you have to do is cook them, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the gnocchi. It takes about 2 minutes and they are done, scoop them out of the water and they are done.

For a simple fast sauce to go with them try this one

Fast tomato sauce
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finley chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 x 400/14oz can Pasta tomatoes
A pinch of sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fresh basil leaves

Dice your onion and garlic and get that in to a frying pan with the olive oil and cook till soft. Add the tin of tomatoes, tomato puree a pinch of sugar and then season to your liking. Cook rapidly so it reduces slightly then rip the basil and trow it in and that is a fast tomato sauce.