For years and years I've tried various gnocchi (little potato dumplings) recipes and they have always turned out gummy, dense, and rubbery... practically inedible but I keep trying because good gnocchi is a culinary delight. Fluffy, tender, and delicious.... they should be cloud-like, holding their shape just long enough to dissolve on your tongue—
I mentioned last post I was going to try beet gnocchi... So last night I searched the internet for tips on gnocchi... First what potato ...definitely divided opinions between russets and Yukon gold. Mute point since I only had Yukon Gold. Egg or no eggs. Recipes varied...2 eggs, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk or no egg... But one site recommended the 1 yolk for beginners so decided to start there...
The most informative site covered everything.
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Recipes were also divided on whether to bake or boil potatoes.. My recipe called for baking and then cooling to peel. But I remembered Cristina said it was most important to work with them hot. I roasted the beets, peeled and put them in the food processor. All the beet gnocchi recipes called for a 2-1 ratio of potatoes put through a ricer and beets.
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Here I'm ready to roll out the long tubes to cut the little individual dumplings.. I really felt I needed more flour at this point but I was paranoid about adding too much. Next time I will add a bit more flour at this point to have a firmer dough.. But the color is gorgeous.
I cut them, dropped them in boiling water until they rose to the top, and then sautéed them in brown butter... and they were definitely "cloud-like" and delicious. Also the color was so pretty with the fish. The shape needs working on but next time with a little extra flour I can solve that problem... No more gummy, dense, rubbery gnocchi. The coleslaw was a happy accident... I only had half a small head of leftover cabbage so added a leftover piece of celeriac and they were perfect together with some mandarin orange and baby kale added.
Everyone has always urged me to watch Downton Abbey, telling me that I would just love it... So last month I started and managed to get through the first 8 episodes but the cast went from one disaster and crisis to another and I found it terribly depressing.. Just when I thought their lives couldn't get worse, the war started.. That was it!!!I knew I could never get through all the seasons... so I skipped to the last 3 episodes in the last season and got to the happy stuff...requited love, marriages and babies.. But I do admit that Maggie Smith was a treasure... I will continue the recipe site though.
This cartoon really summed it up...and I'm back to the food channel.