Potato Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce

Sometimes we let potatoes sit a little too long in the kitchen, and they start to sprout eyes and become a bit soft. If this happens to you, and you think they are destined for the garbage, WAIT! These ugly little potatoes can be transformed into a delicious meal. Indeed, potato gnocchi made with old potatoes is far superior to potato gnocchi made with potatoes in their prime because they contain less water and more starch. The gnocchi instructions below are adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. She recommends using any kind of old boiling potato, and specifically advises against using any kind of baking potato or new potato as either will yield gnocchi that are "likely to collapse while cooking." The potatoes I used in this case are Yukon Gold.

With just six ingredients including these lowly potatoes, and a little patience, you will impress your family with a tasty and economical meal.

You will need:

1 1/2 pounds potatoes

1 1/2 cups flour

1 large can of Italian tomatoes with their juices

5 tablespoons of butter

1 medium sized onion

salt

First, boil the potatoes in water until they are soft. The smaller ones will cook first, and you can remove them as they are done.

Meanwhile, start your sauce. Dump the tomatoes in a pan, chop them up roughly with some kitchen shears, add the butter and some salt. Peel and halve the onion, and place it in the pan with the other ingredients. Bring to a simmer, stirring every so often.

As you stir your sauce now and then, break up any large chunks of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.

This sauce is so simple, and so tasty, and it can be enjoyed on any kind of pasta!

When the potatoes are soft, peel them while still warm.

(It's worth mentioning that any traces of the "eyes", and any discolored spots should be removed prior to eating any potato, as these blemishes can be toxic.)

Now, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. I used the same one I boiled the potatoes in - less to clean up later :)

Pass the peeled potatoes through a food mill to make a puree.

Place the potato puree on a floured work surface, and knead in the 1 1/2 cups of flour a little at a time. Depending how absorbent your potatoes are, you may not need to add all of the flour. Your dough should end up soft and just a little bit sticky.

Divide the dough into a few smaller pieces.

Then, using both hands, roll each portion into 1 inch thick snakelike cylinders, dividing it into more pieces as necessary to keep it at a manageable length.

Using a sharp knife, divide each cylinder into little pillows of dough.

Using a fork as a shaping tool, use your index finger to indent each pillow in the center.

The fork will create a groove pattern on one side, useful for trapping the sauce.

Make a batch of gnocchi, and test a few in the boiling water to determine the cooking time. They should float to the top, and then require 10 seconds, more or less, to become done. When they are done they should not taste of raw flour. I left mine in for 20-30 seconds.

Here are the gnocchi, looking lovely boiling in the salted water:

Once cooked, remove the gnocchi from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a colander.

Cook any remaining batches of gnocchi in the same boiling water.

Once all the gnocchi has been cooked, serve in bowls and top with the warm sauce.

If desired, you may also top your gnocchi with some Parmesan cheese. We had ours with sauce only, and didn't miss a thing.

Roasted Winter Vegetables

My husband says that if I were embodied in a food dish, this creation of mine would be it. It is a simple thing; 4 root vegetables, tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with sel gris de guerande (a course sea salt that is my absolute favorite), and roasted at about 425°F until caramelized on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. It goes with any kind of fish or meat, and is soooo yummy. I am not ashamed to admit that I make as much as will fit in my roasting pan so that I have enough to serve for dinner as well as leftovers to eat cold for breakfast in the morning!

The four vegetables I use are turnips, carrots, yams, and parsnips. The yams have a wonderful sweetness, and the parsnips are an absolute must with their unique flavor and perfume. The carrots and turnips add a nice balance to round the dish out.

First the vegetables are chopped into bite sized pieces.

Place them in a roasting pan, and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil.

Take a nice pinch of coarse sea salt, and grind it up over the veggies by rubbing it briskly between your palms.

Place it into the 425°F oven. The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of your vegetables, but stir every so often so that you can see their progress. The most important thing is that they become well caramelized.

Here they are, gorgeous, delectable and ready to serve:

On this particular occasion I pan fried some striped bass to go with them. This was also a simple preparation, just dredged in a bit of flour, sautéed in some vegetable oil for about 7-8 minutes, and a little squeeze of lemon on the plate.

Add a green vegetable to the plate for extra color and vitamins! In this case I just boiled some green beans in salted water.

Lunch is served!

Bon Appetit!

Great Idea

Hey Sis, great idea! My indispensable cookbooks are:
1) The vegetarian meat & potatoes cookbook by Robin Robertson
2) The volumetrics eating plan by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D.
3) Still life with menu by Mollie Katzen
4) Cooking Light magazine
5) Healthy homestyle cooking by Evelyn Tribole, M.S., R.D.
6) The healthy slow cooker by Judith Finlayson
7) Better Homes and Gardens biggest book of bread machine recipes
8) On food and cooking: the science and lore of the kitchen by Harold McGee

My Desert Island Cookbooks, if that desert island had a stove :)

I'd be interested to know what all of your indispensable cookbooks are.

The cookbooks I reach for most often and which give me the most consistently unfailing results are:

Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters

The Balthazar Cookbook by Keith McNally et al

Classic Indian Cooking and Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking by Julie Sahni

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Bugialli on Pasta by Giulliano Bugialli

I also make a great baguette that has become legendary among my family and friends, the recipe for which I now know by heart but that came from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart.

Mission Statement

Welcome to this new blog!  For a long time my husband has been telling me I should make a food blog chronicling all of the recipes that I make, yet I could never find the incentive to do so until I decided I want to share this part of my life with others who are also passionate about food.  Just as a good meal is made even better by sharing it with loved ones, so this endeavor will be made all the more meaningful by inviting you all to take part.

I am envisioning weekly or seasonal themes that I will moderate, but at the same time please know that you may share any inspiring recipe you've made at any time, or to discuss at will any food or food-related concept that piques your interest.

My posts of recipes will include photos as often as possible, because: food is wonderful to look at, recipes are more enticing when accompanied by an image of food, and photos of food will certainly enhance the look of this blog!  With this in mind, I have created the blog with a black background... in my opinion, most photos look better on black :)  I encourage you all to post your own photos as much as you can.

Then, without further ado, let the blogging begin!