GNOCCHI

Demonstrated by Neva Dominis & Alenka Dunatov

Gnocchi can be complicated.  It sounds simple, but due to the varying moisture content of potatoes, it can be tricky.  If you choose to use baked potatoes the moisture content of the potato is lower, thus you use less flour.  Boiled potatoes have a higher moisture content so more flour is needed.

Ingredients:

·        1 pound of potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold are best)

·        ¼ cup grits

·        1 cup all-purpose flour

·        1 egg

·        ¼ c softened butter

·        ½ tsp salt

·        ½ tsp white pepper (optional)

Either bake the potatoes in the oven -OR- boil unpeeled potatoes in a large pot until tender.  Let cool enough to remove the skin. Discard the skins.

Pass them through a potato ricer or mash them.  Place in a mixing bowl and add the grits, egg, softened butter, salt, and pepper (optional).  Mix by hand until well blended.

Flour a flat surface and turn out the potato mixture.  Add a little flour at a time and mix until it’s a soft dough-like consistency.  It should not stick to your fingers.  Shape it into a disk.

Flour another clean flat surface and cut small amounts of dough.  Roll it to form ropes of dough and cut them into ¾ inch pieces.  Slide each piece on a fork pressing a little (not too hard), just enough to get the impression of the fork tine.

Let the gnocchi rest for 20 minutes before cooking.

In a large pot of salted boiling water cook the gnocchi until they float to the top.  Don’t cook too many at once.

Drain and toss with your favorite sauce.