Gnocchi With Brown Butter, Sage, and Garlic

                                                                       
Gnocchi are little dumpling like pillows of dough made with potatoes, flour and egg. I remember my grandmother making gnocchi.  She would make what seemed like millions of them, spread clean sheets over the beds and lay them out to dry.  I don't think she ever dried them so they were hard, but just until she was ready to cook them.

I love to make pasta.  There is no comparison between the taste of homemade pasta and store bought pasta.  It doesn't even taste like the same food!  Well kind of, but given the choice, I will always pick homemade.  Is it difficult to make?  No!  A little time consuming, not something you would make on a weeknight, after a long day at work, but there is an amazing sense of accomplishment when you make your own pasta.  You feel really talented, and boy, is your family impressed!

I use a pasta machine to make regular pasta. Regular pasta dough is very stretchy and hard to roll out by hand.  My first machine was purchased over 40 years ago when I lived in Germany.  It was a hand crank model and it made sheets for lasagna or ravioli, fettuccine, and thin spaghetti.  I passed my hand crank machine down to a dear friend when I got an electric one that attaches to my KitchenAid stand mixer.  It is much easier to use. Then a few years ago, for my birthday, my daughter gave me another attachment for my stand mixer that makes fusilli (corkscrew shapes), rigatoni, ziti, and buccatelli (long spaghetti with a hole in it).  What fun I can have!

So the great thing about gnocchi is that it doesn't require a pasta machine or any fancy equipment, you can use a potato ricer or food mill if you have one, but a colander with large holes works well too.

                                                                   

                                                                   
I find it easier to prepare the sauce before I start to make the gnocchi, because once you start cooking them, things move very quickly. 

I have lots of pictures to hopefully explain things as I go along, so here is the recipe.

Gnocchi With Brown Butter, Sage and Garlic

Sauce:
1 stick of butter
6 cloves of garlic
1 bunch fresh sage leaves - about 1/4 cup chopped

Gnocchi

3 large potatoes - about 2 1/2 pounds
1 1/2 to 2 cups of flour
1 egg

Begin by scrubbing the potatoes and piercing several times with a fork.  Bake in a 425 degree oven for about an hour.  While the potatoes are baking, chop the garlic and sage leaves and melt the butter over high heat until it turns slightly brown.  Lower the heat to medium low and add garlic and sage.  Be very careful not to burn the garlic or it will taste bitter. When garlic begins to soften, turn off the heat.  Set aside.  Also, set a large pot of water on the stove, turn the heat to high.  If it boils while you are still forming your gnocchi, turn it down and turn it back up when you are almost finished.  Don't forget to salt the water; pasta water should be about as salty as sea water.  I also set out a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to put the completed gnocchi on.  No sheets on the bed for me!!

When the potatoes are done, remove from the oven and when they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and break into large chunks.  I use a large wooden cutting board to work on, but you could also use a very large bowl.  Force the potato through the colander or potato ricer. Try not to make one huge pile because you want them to stay fluffy, not clump up. It should look like this:
                                                                       

                                                                             
Next, sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of flour over the potato, make a well in the center and add the egg.  Using a fork stab the egg to break the yolk and begin to work the egg into the flour and potato.  Work from the outside in. At some point, you will see that you need to start working with your hands.  Continue mixing until a soft dough forms.  Add more flour as needed. Don't add more than a total of two cups or your dough will become too heavy. It is a very soft dough, not like regular pasta dough or bread dough.  Bread off pieces of the dough and roll into snakes about 3/4 inch in diameter.
                                                                             

 



 

Now use a knife and cut into one inch pieces.  You can leave them like this, or add ridges using a fork or ridged paddle.  My paddle part of a se for ma that was actually used for making fancy butter pats. You can find gnocchi boards online and they are less than $10.00.  You can also use the back of a fork. The purpose of the ridges is to hold the sauce, but they are not necessary.  I remember that my grandmother used to make a little dent in each one with her thumb.  See how they look like little pillows?

 

                                                                             

 

Here are some photos of the process of putting in the ridges, using both the paddle and a fork

                                          

 

 

                                           

Here are my completed gnocchi ready to go into the pot of boiling water.

                             

                                                                     

 

Do not dump all the gnocchi into the water at once or you will have a sticky, gooey inedible mess.  I do small batches at a time.  Maybe one quarter of the total batch each time.  They cook VERY quickly as soon as they rise to the top of the pot they are done. Gnocchi have a very different texture than regular pasta. No al dente here, they are very soft and light in your mouth.  Remove with a slotted spoon or spider and transfer to a bowl with the sauce.  Continue working quickly until they are all cooked.  Garnish with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and serve. 

                                                                             

                                                                           

 

Gnocchi can also be served with tomato sauce, pesto or any other type of pasta sauce. We just love the flavor of the sage and garlic.

 

I know this is not a quick recipe, but well worth the work if you are willing to take on the challenge. Relax and have fun with it!

 

Happy Cooking!

 

Carol

a.k.a. Nonnie