Monday, August 27, 2012

Gnocci Fun


Our family loves gnocci and we have been making it together once a week or so. I will cut and boil or steam the potatoes until they are tender. Once they have cooled off a bit we all gather around the bowl and try to peel them. We make a game of trying to get the peel off in one piece. Once that is done we mash the potatoes, trying to keep them light and fluffy (or 'heavy and pounded' if light and fluffy doesn't work). The flour and a little salt are added and mixed in and then we are ready to roll. One person makes small balls and puts them out onto cutting boards. Two others at their cutting board stations are rolling these balls out into long snake-like tubes (about 3/4" thick) and then cutting them into small gnocci-sized pieces. During this part we really socialize and chat, and we laugh a lot. My daughter says how much she enjoys making gnocci because we are all working together.

After the pieces are cut, we place them on lightly floured cookie sheets where they remain until we cook them in boiling water. I made the mistake before of piling the finished gnocci on top of one another. Even one layer is too much and the gnocci stuck together. I mentioned to the kids to keep the pieces separate on the cookie tray. We finished our work and the kids went to their rooms to play Minecraft. My gnocci tray had pieces placed down quickly in no particular fashion. When I saw the tray my son had made I had to take a picture of it. Gnocci placed perfectly with love :)  Imagine how good it tasted!


No comments: