A different kind of gnocchi
My friends know how much I love Italy. And they know how much I love Italian food.
Imagine my surprise then when I received news of two recipes from two different people at the same time for one of my favorite northern Italian dishes.
You all know what gnocchi are. They are those usually tasty potato dumplings that can be complemented by any pasta sauce.
But the gnocchi I tasted in Trieste (in the far Northeast of Italy) are very different. They are stuffed with plums (prunes) and are sweet.
Yuck, you might say. But don't knock it until you've tried it! I can assure you that gnocchi di susine are a terrific delight and very, well, simply put, yummy.
One recipe my friends gave me is from La Cucina di Lidia by Lidia Bastianich (whose television show airs from time to time on PBS and The Food Network).
The other recipe is from The Silver Spoon published by Phaidon.
Both recipes are good, but I prefer the layout and instructions in The Silver Spoon; in Lidia's book the recipe requires you to jump between the basic gnocchi recipe and the gnocchi di susine recipe. (You might like to know too that The Silver Spoon is finally available in English: it has been the quintessential cookbook in Italy for decades. After the recipe I put some links to news stories from its release.)
Here I am going to give you a modified version of the The Silver Spoon recipe. I add variations from La Cucina di Lidia and from my own cooking experience. For those who want to go directly to the recipe in their own copy of either book, the page numbers are: The Silver Spoon 263; La Cucina di Lidia 121 with basic recipe on page 117).
Enjoy!
This recipe serves 4.
12 fresh plums or 12 prepared prunes (use only plums that are in season otherwise use the prunes)
1 1/2 tsp. sugar, plus a little more for dusting
2 1/4 lbs. potatoes (Idaho or russet are best)
1 3/4 c. all-purpose or unbleached flour (your choice)
1 egg
3 tbs. butter (I recommend only butter)
4 tbs. breadcrumbs
cinnamon
nutmeg
salt
If using fresh plums, blanch them for 5-7 minutes. The instructions that follow are for either plums or prunes (but I will only use the word plums).
Split and pit the plums. Then add a a sprinkle of sugar to the inside. Set aside.
Cook potatoes for 25 minutes in lightly salted, boiling water. (I prefer to cube my potatoes before boiling to shorten this time.) Mash them while they are still hot.
Spoon the potatoes into a mound; add flour, egg and a pinch of salt. Knead this mixture into a soft dough. (You can use a nice mixer like a Kitchenaid but be sure not to over knead.) Do not exceed 10 minutes of kneading.
Spoon the dough into equal parts--usually about the size of an egg--but you can vary the size according to the size of the plum. Then wrap around a plum and be sure it is sealed by pinching the edges if necessary.
Place a few gnocchi at a time into slightly salted, boiling water until they rise to the surface.
While the first batch is boiling, melt the butter then add bread crumbs, cinnamon and a bit of sugar. Cook this mixture, stirring often, until golden.
Serve with butter, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.
That is the end of how I had them. The recipes also suggest dredging or rolling the gnocchi in the breadcrumb mixture. I have not tried them that way and think without them the gnocchi are just fine.
To read more about the release and wonder of The Silver Spoon see: The Boston Herald or NPR.
Again I say, enjoy! It's worth the time and effort.
Tom
Imagine my surprise then when I received news of two recipes from two different people at the same time for one of my favorite northern Italian dishes.
You all know what gnocchi are. They are those usually tasty potato dumplings that can be complemented by any pasta sauce.
But the gnocchi I tasted in Trieste (in the far Northeast of Italy) are very different. They are stuffed with plums (prunes) and are sweet.
Yuck, you might say. But don't knock it until you've tried it! I can assure you that gnocchi di susine are a terrific delight and very, well, simply put, yummy.
One recipe my friends gave me is from La Cucina di Lidia by Lidia Bastianich (whose television show airs from time to time on PBS and The Food Network).
The other recipe is from The Silver Spoon published by Phaidon.
Both recipes are good, but I prefer the layout and instructions in The Silver Spoon; in Lidia's book the recipe requires you to jump between the basic gnocchi recipe and the gnocchi di susine recipe. (You might like to know too that The Silver Spoon is finally available in English: it has been the quintessential cookbook in Italy for decades. After the recipe I put some links to news stories from its release.)
Here I am going to give you a modified version of the The Silver Spoon recipe. I add variations from La Cucina di Lidia and from my own cooking experience. For those who want to go directly to the recipe in their own copy of either book, the page numbers are: The Silver Spoon 263; La Cucina di Lidia 121 with basic recipe on page 117).
Enjoy!
This recipe serves 4.
12 fresh plums or 12 prepared prunes (use only plums that are in season otherwise use the prunes)
1 1/2 tsp. sugar, plus a little more for dusting
2 1/4 lbs. potatoes (Idaho or russet are best)
1 3/4 c. all-purpose or unbleached flour (your choice)
1 egg
3 tbs. butter (I recommend only butter)
4 tbs. breadcrumbs
cinnamon
nutmeg
salt
If using fresh plums, blanch them for 5-7 minutes. The instructions that follow are for either plums or prunes (but I will only use the word plums).
Split and pit the plums. Then add a a sprinkle of sugar to the inside. Set aside.
Cook potatoes for 25 minutes in lightly salted, boiling water. (I prefer to cube my potatoes before boiling to shorten this time.) Mash them while they are still hot.
Spoon the potatoes into a mound; add flour, egg and a pinch of salt. Knead this mixture into a soft dough. (You can use a nice mixer like a Kitchenaid but be sure not to over knead.) Do not exceed 10 minutes of kneading.
Spoon the dough into equal parts--usually about the size of an egg--but you can vary the size according to the size of the plum. Then wrap around a plum and be sure it is sealed by pinching the edges if necessary.
Place a few gnocchi at a time into slightly salted, boiling water until they rise to the surface.
While the first batch is boiling, melt the butter then add bread crumbs, cinnamon and a bit of sugar. Cook this mixture, stirring often, until golden.
Serve with butter, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.
That is the end of how I had them. The recipes also suggest dredging or rolling the gnocchi in the breadcrumb mixture. I have not tried them that way and think without them the gnocchi are just fine.
To read more about the release and wonder of The Silver Spoon see: The Boston Herald or NPR.
Again I say, enjoy! It's worth the time and effort.
Tom
3 Comments:
I think you left something out. You take the gnocchi in egg size spoonfuls and then what, what about the plums, are they in the middle and then how do you hold them together? I think they sound great, but need the rest of the recipe to try.
Recipe amended. Thanks for the comment.
Tom
Thank you for amending the recipe. I will try these, maybe when you come to visit or before.
Mar
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