ÑOQUIS AS MODERATELY FAST FOOD

Did my first project interview today with the director of the library at the ORT business school. She spoke so fast that I have no idea whether my notes represent anything of what she said.  Am rethinking the project...

So it's comforting to think about something that I can do without trying really hard - making ñoquis (gnocchis in Italian).  I was inspired to learn to make them from an old telenovela we used to watch here called PH, where a 15-year-old troubled teenager in a halfway house often just started making them casually while engaged in heavy conversation with her fellow inmates.

Here's the thing:  there are many, many recipes for gnocchis, from renowned cooks, which contradict each other profoundly.  No eggs, 2 eggs, boil potatoes, bake potatoes, use Idahos, use Yukon Golds, a little flour, lots of flour, etc. etc.  I therefore think that they are just pretty flexible and can take whatever you give them, as long as you cook them right after you make them.  I know there is another recipe for them in here, and have heard a few complaints about it, but the ñoquis I made last night were lovely, so I'll just chronicle the experience.   And since I mistakenly erased the photo I took to prove how lovely in fact they were, here's one instead of the skating rink right outside our apartment where we go almost every evening to watch a scene of terrifyingly fast gleeful chaos.

So here's the recipe:
On the side, in a good sized saucepan (which will hold all the gnocchis ultimately) make (or pour) any simple tomato sauce you like - you'll need about 2 cups - I added a few TB of cream, too.   Let it simmer gently while you make the  gnocchis.  When it's the right consistency (not too thick),  just keep it warm on very low heat.

Ñoquis for 3 or 4, depending on what else is available.  This time I used:

• 4 medium sized boiling potatoes - NOT peeled
• 1/2 of a beaten egg
• 1 cp. flour
• salt and pepper
• parmesan for grating
• optional - chopped fresh parsley or basil

Put the potatoes in water to cover and bring to a simmer.  When they are cooked through - about 20 minutes, use a long skewer or thin knife to see if they are - but don't do this too often because you don't want them to get soggy.  Take them out and drain as soon as they are done.  

Put another pot of water on to boil - add about a tsp. salt.  Keep it quietly simmering on the stove.

When the potatoes have cooled a bit, peel them and grate them with the large holes on one of those metal graters (it's all I had - at home I would use a potato ricer - and it was just as good) over a bowl.  When that has cooled to lukewarm, add the 1/2 egg, some salt and pepper, and then the flour, about a 1/4 cp. at a time.  Mix with your hands.  At the end, the mixture should be smooth and should easily form a soft ball.  If it's still very sticky, you could add some more flour.  Test:  pinch off a marble-sized piece, roll it in your fingers, and drop it into the simmering water.  If it holds together and comes to the top in a few minutes, you're golden.  If not, try adding a little more flour. 

Now on a cool surface (marble, formica, wood, etc.) which you have sprinkled generously with flour, take about 1/3 of the dough, roll it into a long snaky shape about 3/4" thick.  With a sharp knife, cut it into 3/4" pieces, and keep them on a floured part of the surface, a little apart from each other - cutting them should take about a minute - and forget about the whole thing with the fork and the dimples - they're just fine the way they are.  Now just pick them up and drop them in the simmering water a few at a time until all of them are there, and give it a gentle stir with a wooden spoon.  At first they will sit at the bottom, but in a few minutes they'll rise to the top.  When they're all up there, pick them up a spoonful at a time - with a slotted spoon, letting the water drain off, and then gently lower them into the warm tomato sauce (remember that?) and stir them in carefully.  Do this two more times with the remaining dough. Now just grate some parmesan over the top and maybe sprinkle some fresh parsley or basil.

It may take you as long to read this recipe as it does to make these.   It's great to have this in your repertoire - you almost always have what you need in the house, and it's such a quick and comforting dinner.  We had it with a salad (por supuesto), roasted asparagus (just throw them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt), and for dessert, my favorite higos en almibar (figs in syrup) - which may not be sold anywhere else but here.