gnocchi with tomato sauce02 / 25 / 13

today kicks off jason’s birthday week.

gnocchi with tomato sauce

how does he choose to celebrate? with a week of potatoes! anyone who knows jason understands this. the man loves potatoes. i mean loves. once he said, and i quote, “i love horseradish more than anything. just kidding, vicky, only potatoes come before you.” last year for his birthday (or maybe it was christmas), his cousin charlie got him a book called “the potato and its wild relatives.” it’s genius. i paged through the book to see if there was a picture of him.

tomato sauce

anyways, today is the first day of potato-based dinners. tonight, we had gnocchi in a light tomato sauce. gnocchi, when made wrong, can be really heavy and gummy. but this gnocchi is light and fluffy and turned out perfect.

gnocchi

happy fiance with gnocchi in tomato sauce

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Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce
Recipe type: Main Dish
Serves: 5-6
 
Ingredients
For gnocchi:
  • 2 lbs russet potatoes, about 3-5 depending on size
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1¼ - 1½ cups all purpose flour
For tomato sauce:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium carrot, chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 1 28 oz can whole or chopped tomatoes, with juice
  • ½ cup basil leaves, chopped + tablespoon more for garnish
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400. Bake potatoes for 45-60 minutes until tender.
  2. While those are baking, make tomato sauce. Heat olive oil in large pot and add carrots, celery, and onions. Cook for 4-5 minutes and then add garlic. Cook an additional 5 minutes. Pour in white wine to scrape off stuck brown bits. Let the wine reduce for 5 minutes or so, and add in tomatoes with juice, using a spoon to break them up if whole. Add in basil, chicken broth, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and cook for an additional 45 minutes.
  3. When potatoes are done, let them cool until they are tolerable to touch. Peel the skins off using a peeler or a knife.
  4. Next, run the potatoes through a potato ricer or use a food processor's grater attachment. Or, for the truly manual experience, use the large holes of a grater and get a workout.
  5. Once the potatoes are grated, transfer them to a bowl and mix in egg and salt.
  6. Add flour, ½ a cup at a time, and mix well. You want the consistency to be soft but not stick to your hands too much. The less flour you can use and have this consistency, the fluffier and lighter your gnocchi will be.
  7. Once you've got the dough right, divide into four parts. Roll each piece into a ¾ inch thick rope on a lightly floured surface. Cut each rope into ¾ inch thick pieces.
  8. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and drop gnocchi into water. You'll need to do it in batches, depending on the size of your pot. Boil until gnocchi start to float, about 2-3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer gnocchi into a bowl or serving dish.
  9. The last step is pureeing the tomato sauce. Remove the sauce from heat, pour into a food processor and blend until smooth. The original recipe has you straining out the vegetables and eating the gnocchi in a broth, which I've also had, and enjoyed greatly, but I wanted a more substantial sauce tonight.
  10. Plate the gnocchi on top of the sauce and top off with a little basil. Hopefully your dinner date will be as happy as mine.

recipe adapted from smitten kitchen.

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