AUTHENTIC  ITALIAN  RECIPES

 FROM

 RISTORANTE  d'ANNAMARIA

Gnocchi di patate: Gnocchi is probably one of the most asked for first plates in Southern Italy. There are two types, one made with potatoes and one made without potatoes. My personal favorite is the one with potatoes so I'll start with it. I can't believe it has taken this long for me to get it added to the site.

Ingredients for 4 people:

Potatoes (white, boiled and peeled)                     about 2½ pounds

All purpose flour                                               about 8 ounces

Ragu sauce                                                        about 2 quarts

Parmesan (grated)                                             3 - 4 ounces

How To Do It:

Important Note:  Do not use new potatoes - use old potatoes. New potatoes contain a lot of water, so in order to get your dough to the right consistency you will need to add too much flour making your gnocchi gummy and chewy. Red skinned (old) potatoes make, in fact, the best gnocchi.

I think the potatoes are more flavorful if you peel them after they've been boiled. (my opinion) If you peel them first, though, add an extra potato to compensate for the loss during peeling.

Put the potatoes in a pot and cover them with cold water, put a lid on the pot and bring them to a boil over high heat.

Boil them until they are tender al the through when you insert a fork.

Drain and peel them while they're still pretty hot. (they peel easier when they're hot)

Pass the boiled potatoes through a potato ricer using the disk with the smallest holes. Make sure you have gotten rid of all lumps in the potato.

Start working flour into the passed potatoes using the same kneading technique as making bread.

Use enough flour to ensure that the dough is no longer sticky but still nice and soft.

If the potatoes give out a little water, it may be necessary to add a little more flour.

Put your dough to the side on a well floured surface.

With a sharp knife, cut off a small portion and start rolling it out on a floured surface. We're looking to make a rope a little smaller in diameter than your little finger.

Once you have rolled the first dough piece into a rope, cut the rope into pieces about an inch long.

Now with your finger tip, squash down the center of each piece and roll them slightly making pieces that resemble pasta shells. This takes a little practice, just don't be too brutal on your dough pieces. A gentle touch is what you need.

When you're all done with the first piece put all of your gnocchi's on a well floured surface and sprinkle a little flour over them. This will keep them from sticking to the surface and each other.

Now cut another piece from your dough ball and repeat the previous operation until you've used all of your gnocchi dough.

Gently put your gnocchi in a very large pot of rapidly boiling water and boil them until they float. Cook one more minute and then gently drain them.

Pour Ragu sauce and mozzarella over them and mix a little.

Transfer this to a large baking pan, cover with Ragu and grated parmesan and bake at 375º for 30 minutes.

Serve piping hot.