Fresh Gnocchi

The first gnocchi I made was just last night. I had some leftover mashed pumpkin and tried to make pumpkin gnocchi. It was ok, but they turned out a bit heavy and chewy due to the amount of flour I had to use. It's something I'm looking at working on, but tonight I decided to go traditional and make simple potato gnocchi. Potatoes are starchy, which helps create a good gnocchi dough.

 

Quick Fresh Gnocchi with Cream Sauce and Crispy Salami

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 large desiree potatoes, peeled, cubed

plain flour

2-4 mushrooms, peeled, sliced

1/2 cup frozen peas

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

salami, sliced thinly

parsley, chopped finely

cream

salt

pepper

Method:

Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain, return to pan and mash well. Set aside to cool.

Once the potato is at a temperature you can touch comfortably, add some flour and salt to taste and use your hands to mix it into the potato until it forms a dough. Be careful to only add enough to make the potatoes a bit sticky and doughy, otherwise the gnocchi will taste a little floury and be a bit heavy. Shape the dough into little ovals. If you want to serve the gnocchi with another sauce, press a fork into them lightly to create slight indentations - they'll help the sauce stick to the gnocchi.

Cook the salami in a hot frypan until crisp. Remove and place on paper towel to drain. Use any oil left in the pan to cook the mushrooms and garlic until soft. Add peas, parsley and cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until they float to the top of the water.

Serve with the sauce and crispy salami on top.