Making Gnocchi

This is my third attempt at gnocchi making.  First time was at a supper club with friends.  We used a traditional recipe and I think it turned out pretty well.  It was a challenge to cook for a crowd, to keep the gnocchi from sticking together and becoming mushy.  We still ate them with gusto though.   

As with most things in the kitchen, practice is required to get the hang of it and feel comfortable with the technique.  I've been practicing and it's getting easier.  I still wouldn't say I've mastered it.  I found a recipe that calls for ricotta cheese, instead of the cooked potato and because I had some cheese that I needed to use I thought I'd give it a try.  I found it to be a lot easier than the potato recipe.  Here's how it came together:

I mixed the ricotta cheese, egg, olive oil and salt and pepper in a bowl.  Then I added plain flour, a half a cup at a time, until the dough was soft and held together.  I placed it on a floured mat and kneaded it a few times, then cut it into six pieces.

I rolled each piece into a long rope,

and then cut them into small pieces.  

I rolled each little piece of dough over and down the back of a fork.

The ridges are for collecting the wonderful sauce that you serve with the pasta.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and drop the gnocchi in.  When they float, they are ready.  It only takes a minute or so.  Drain and serve with your favorite pasta sauce.  At the moment, mine just happens to be Giada De Laurentiis' marinara.  I'll blog that one soon.

I like these little pasta pillows!  I've learned that they need to be eaten as soon as they come out of the pot, which means sauce and anything else you want to have with them must be ready and waiting.  This recipe makes more than we can eat, so I've put some in the freezer (uncooked) and the next time I plan to try a copycat version of Olive Garden's Chicken and Gnocchi soup.  Yum!

The recipe can be found here.

*Take the Time Goals - #17 Eat less meat.  #20 Make pasta once a month.