For The "Gnocchi" Lovers!

14 Wednesday Jan 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Main Dish, Recipes

Now I know there are some gnocchi lovers out there. Here’s how to make it.

Potato Gnocchi
4 Servings

Gnocchi (pronounced “nyo-kee” and derived from the German word for “knuckle”) are tasty little dumplings, one of Italy’s oldest pastas, dating back to the 12th century. Traditional ingredients vary from region to region, with recipes including potatoes, flour, semolina, ricotta cheese, spinach and even bread crumbs. My favorite base for gnocchi is the Idaho potato. Potatoes are packed with complex carbohydrates, plenty of potassium, vitamins C and B-6, and lots of great minerals. Potatoes convert to glucose in your body fairly quickly, triggering the release of insulin, which leads to increased levels of relaxing seratonin in your brain. When making gnocchi (a relaxing activity in itself), pinch each one to create an indentation, which holds the sauce. Immediately let it fall to the floured surface so you handle the gnocchi as little as possible. Cook them right away if you can. Toss the dumplings into the bubbling water and drink in the scented steam. They will emerge light and delectable.

Ingredients:
1 pound baking potatoes
1 3/4 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash paprika
Dash grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:
1. Peel the potatoes, cut in quarters, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook until tender. Drain and mash. You should have about 2 cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, a few dashes of paprika and nutmeg, and the chopped parsley.
3. Add the warm potatoes and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead just until dough is well mixed and not sticky. Let rest for 15 minutes.
4. Roll chunks of dough on floured board into logs about 1 inch thick. Cut into diagonal slices about 3/4 inch thick.
5. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add gnocchi. After they rise to the surface, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.
6. Drain well and cover with your favorite pasta sauce.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
289 calories
1 g total fat (0 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
62 g carbohydrate
8 g protein
3 g fiber
250 mg sodium

(Recipe reprinted with permission of Dr Weil.com)

Might be worth a try, but I might cut back on the salt.

1st Paella!

13 Tuesday Jan 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Main Dish, Photos, Recipes

≈ 1 Comment

OK, so here is my first attempt! Actually it was pretty good. The recipe says serves 2, but I find that hard to understand. It’s more like serving for 6! This makes a LOT of food. But, here is the recipe made in the Paella Pan we bought today!

Basque Market’s Paella

Note: Actually this is adapted from their paella recipe for “Chorizo, Chicken and Pork Paella For 2”.

1 T Olive Oil
¼ med Onion, diced
2 lg Cloves Garlic, diced
¼ c Celery, diced
¼ c Pimientos, diced
¼ c Peas, frozen
¼ c Carrots, diced
3½ c Chicken stock
1 c Paella rice
¼ lbs Chorizos, cut into ¼” rounds
¼ lbs Ham, cut into ¼” chunks
15 pieces Shrimp, 25-30 count – shells removed
1 t Smoked Paprika
1 t Spanish Paprika
4 strands Saffron

Heat the stock on a back burner with the saffron strands.

In a 26 cm paellera (paella pan) add the oil and place on the heat at medium low.

Sauté the onion until it is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and allow to cook until the aroma of the garlic comes through. Add the celery and cook for about 5 minutes. Be careful not to let the vegetables brown.

Add the chorizo and paprika’s and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the ham. Add the rice and the pimentos and stir well into the olive oil. Add ¾ of the chicken stock, leaving the remainder to simmer.

Mix everything well so that the rice is at an even depth throughout the pan. Do not stir the rice any more from this point in the cooking process.

Add the carrots, peas and shrimp. Add some of the chicken stock if necessary. Cook until the rice is tender.

Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a hardy bread.

Note: The original recipe said that this would serve 2. However, Robin and I ate one helping each and we still had an easy 4 servings left.

So, give it a try or maybe we’ll all get together and make one. Serve it with a good, hardy red wine. It’s not very hard, but still took about an hour. I think the key is to have everything prepped before you start. Think of it almost like a Stir Fry.