One of the best ways to celebrate the seasonal potato is to make gnocchi! Gnocchi comes from the Italian word nocchio, which means dumpling/noodle/doughboy. There are a lot of ways that lead to gnocchi. Even in Italy there are a lot of different recipes for gnocchi, and how to eat it. Gnocchi is best when made fresh and with the best potatoes available at that point. You want to make sure you use a crumble potato with still keeps its shape, so potatoes which are also very suitable for making fries. You could use potatoes from the grocery store, however I prefer to buy potatoes from a local farmer. This connects you to your environment, people around you and gives you a much better and tastier dish. Go explore foodie!
Homemade Gnocchi, Creamy Tomatoes & Matured Goat Cheese
Equipment
- Sieve
- Cooking pan
- Blender
Ingredients
Gnocchi Ingredients
- 500 gram Potatoes floury potatoes like Russets and Idahos
- 1 Egg
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 125 gram Flour
- 30 gram Grated Cheese like a local hard cheese, from either cow, goat or sheep milk
- Pinch of Nutmeg
Sauce Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 200 ml Cream
- 2 Onions
- 1 clove Garlic
Serving
- Extra Cheese
- Some Basil Leaves
- 200 gram Cherry Tomatoes
Instructions
Roast the Cherry Tomatoes
- Preheat your oven on 150 degrees Celsius or 302 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Roast the cherry tomatoes with some olive oil for about 50 minutes.
Making the Gnocchi
- Cook or steam the potatoes until there are cooked. Then remove the skin and press the hot potatoes through a fine sieve.
- Mix the potato with the butter, nutmeg, egg and flour. You can best use a wooden spoon for this. Last but not least, add the cheese, salt & pepper to your gnocchi.
- Let the gnocchi cool down to room temperature. In the meanwhile, you can make the sauce!
Making the sauce
- Cut the onion in rings and the clove in garlic in slices.
- Bake the onion and garlic in some olive oil until caramelized and glossy.
- Add the tomato paste and let this bake for about 5 minutes on a low heat. Then you can add the cream, salt & pepper.
- Blend the sauce until smooth. Pour through a fine sieve to remove the lumps. Use the back of a soupspoon to press all liquid through the sieve.
- Keep the sauce warm in a baking pan.
Shaping the gnocchi
- Flour your kitchen counter and divide the gnocchi dough in small balls. Easiest method to use is to roll out the dough, cutting the dough in equal squares and then roll those small squares into gnocchi. However, you can also just form smaller balls from the big dough ball. Use enough flour for this process in order to make sure the gnocchi doesn't stick to your kitchen counter.
- Bring a great amount of salted water to a boil, and cook the gnocchi for about 5 minutes. The water should be boiling in the beginning, but during the cooking process it is important that heat is on a medium/low heat. You can better poach the gnocchi gently instead of hard boiling it. If the gnocchi comes to the surface, the gnocchi is ready.
Almost ready to eat..
- Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan with sauce. Stir gently to make sure that all gnocchis are covered with sauce.
- Serve the gnocchi with the roasted tomatoes, basil leaves and extra cheese.