Coumadin® (Warfarin)
This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users.
Lactose
This recipe is safe for those who are lactose intolerant.
Sodium
This is a low sodium recipe.
GERD / Acid Reflux
No specific GERD triggers.
Gluten Sensitivity
This recipe is safe for those who are sensitive to gluten.
"Eggs have no business dancing with stones." -Italian Proverb
There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of gnocchi recipes. The basic recipe uses cooked potatoes, combined with flour and egg. While they are a form of pasta and share ingredients, gnocchi are a pasta unto themselves - soft and pillowy, with a bit of flavor of their own but a vehicle for sauces. There are recipes that contain all different ingredients from mushrooms to cheese to pesto but even with those flavors they are best as the supporting act for pesto, pomodoro, Alfredo or another sauce.
Making gnocchi is great fun, and with a bit of practice, you can create light fluffy pillows to swim in your sauces. Here are a few tips:
1. Don't overcook the potatoes. They should be just cooked to the point that a paring knife slips in easily, but not so much that the potatoes fall apart.
2. Mix the potatoes, flour and egg just to the point that they are blended and smooth. Over mixing will make the gnocchi pasty.
3. Do not allow the water to boil when you are cooking because the agitation may break up the gnocchi before they have time to cook.
4. Get your sauce ready in advance because they only take a few moments to cook. The minute they float to the top of the water they are pretty much done, and if you cook them for much more than about 30 seconds longer they will be overdone.
Gnocchi can easily be made gluten-free by using gluten free flours. The combination of rice flour and tapioca flour makes this a smooth and silky recipe. The graininess of the rice flour combined with the smoothness of the tapioca gives the gnocchi body without being too sticky.
There's an interesting thing about the difference between this recipe and regular gnocchi recipes. In those that use wheat flours there's always a slight flour taste - just a bit of drying in the mouth. None of that comes through in this gluten free version.
Servings: 2 | Serving size: 10 gnocchi
Cooking Time: 45 Minutes
This recipe can easily be multiplied by 2. Leftovers are fair at best. I have kept the gnocchi refrigerated overnight, but they are not as good as when fresh.
Serve with one of the following sauces:
Fettuccine
Alfredo or
Basil Pesto or
Arugula Pesto or
Vodka
Cream Sauce or
Tomato
Sauce
and a vegetable side dish or salad of your choice.
Peel the potatoes, rinse and cut into 1-inch cubes.
Place a steamer basket in a large sauce pan.
Add about 1 1/2 cups water and set the pan over high heat.
Steam the cubed potatoes until very tender (about 20 minutes).
Remove the steamer basket and allow the potatoes to cool until they are no more than warm to the touch.
Force all of the steamed potatoes through a potato ricer into a large mixing bowl. (If you don't have a potato ricer, the potatoes must be chopped until there are no lumps. Do not over mash them or the gnocchi will be pasty.)
Mix together the rice flour and the tapioca flour.
Add 3 tablespoons of the flour mixture to the potatoes with the egg, salt, nutmeg and black pepper.
Mix together using a fork.
The mixture will take on a crumbly consistency.
Add 2 tablespoons of the remaining flour and blend well.
Knead the dough gently until all the flour is blended in. Stop kneading when the flour is incorporated.
After the dough is smooth, cut it into 2 equal pieces.
Place one tablespoon of rice flour on a cutting board and roll each piece of dough into a rope about as big around as your thumb.
Cut the ropes in 1/2 inch pieces (about ten per roll) and then roll the dumpling over the tines of a fork to shape the ridges of the gnocchi.
Place the water in a large saucepan over high heat. When the water boils reduce the heat to a simmer.
Add the gnocchi no more than 2 servings at a time (20 gnocchi).
As they float to the top of the water, they are done.
Remove them and add to prepared sauce.
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 10 gnocchi
Servings: 2
Amount Per Serving
Calories 210 | Calories from Fat 0 |
% Daily Value |
Total Fat 0g | 0% |
Saturated Fat 0g | 0% |
Monounsaturated Fat 0g | |
Trans Fat 0g | |
Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
Sodium 320mg | 14% |
Total Carbohydrates 47g | 17% |
Dietary Fiber 2g | 8% |
Sugars 1g | |
Protein 6g |
Vitamin A 0% | Vitamin C 0% |
Calcium 0% | Iron 0% |
Vitamin K 0mcg | Potassium 600mg |