Chef Johns Potato Gnocchi Food

CHEF JOHN'S SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Prick a sweet potato all over with a sharp knife and microwave until very soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle.
• Cut potato in half and scoop flesh into a bowl. Mash or blend until smooth. Add ricotta cheese, egg, kosher salt, and cayenne; mix with a spoon until smooth and combined. Stir in flour until mixture comes together into a sticky ball of dough, adding more flour as needed.
• Transfer to a floured surface and knead gently, adding flour as needed, until no longer sticky. Divide into 8 portions. Roll into ropes about 1/2-inch thick, using flour as needed. Dust ropes with flour and cut with a bench scraper into 1/2-inch pieces. Transfer pieces onto a sheet pan and let dry on the pan for 15 to 20 minutes, or refrigerate until needed.
• While gnocchi dry, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Add butter and cook until lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in rosemary. Reserve until needed.
• Stir gnocchi into the pot of boiling water and cook until they float to the top, 3 to 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked gnocchi to the sauce.
• Heat over medium to medium-high heat, coat with sauce, and season with salt. Turn off heat and stir in 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Transfer to a warm serving bowl and top with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano.

CHEF JOHN'S POTATO GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Place potato in microwave and cook on high setting until cooked through, about 7 minutes depending on the size of the potato.
• Split potato and remove flesh. Push flesh through strainer using the back of a wooden spoon in order to achieve a granular texture. Add a pinch of salt and let cool for about 10 minutes. Pour in beaten egg and stir, using the tines of a fork and trying not to mash the potato. Add about 1/3 cup flour and continue gently stirring gently with the tines of a fork until mixture starts to come together. You may need another pinch or two of flour. Fold mixture with a spatula until dough forms a mass, adding flour as needed. Using your fingers, knead dough gently to form ball, about 10 seconds.
• Shape dough into a fat log shape on a floured surface. Cut into 4 pieces. Gently roll each piece using your fingertips to form the "snake" or a long rope of dough, starting from the center and rolling toward the end until dough is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut each rope of dough into 1/2-inch pieces.
• Roll each 1/2-inch piece quickly down the back of a fork's tines to form ridges.
• Heat sauce in a skillet while you cook the gnocchi.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce heat so water continues to simmer. Add gnocchi to water. As soon as they float to the surface after half a minute or so, cook for an additional 14 seconds. Transfer cooked gnocchi with a slotted spoon to the pan with the sauce. Stir until coated.
• Serve topped with grated cheese.

POTATO GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Spread a layer of kosher salt on a baking sheet and arrange the potatoes on top (see Cook's Note). Bake until a bit overcooked, about 45 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle, cut in half, and scoop out the flesh. Reserve the potato skins, if desired, for another use.
• Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer or grate them on the large holes of a box grater. You should have about 2 cups. Make a mound of potatoes on the counter with a well in the middle, add 3 of the egg yolks, the cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mix in the potatoes and mix well with hands. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the flour over the potatoes and, using your knuckles, press it into the potatoes. Fold the mass over on itself and press down again. Sprinkle on more flour, little by little, folding and pressing the dough until it just holds together, (try not to knead it.) Work any dough clinging to your fingers back into the dough. If the mixture is too dry, add another egg yolk or a little water. The dough should give under slight pressure. It will feel firm but yielding. To test if the dough is the correct consistency, take a piece and roll it with your hands on a well-floured board into a rope 1/2-inch in diameter. If the dough holds together, it is ready. If not, add more flour, fold and press the dough several more times, and test again.
• Keeping your work surface and the dough lightly floured, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 1/2-inch in diameter. Cut into 1/2-inch-long pieces. Lightly flour the gnocchi as you cut them. You can cook these as is or form them into the classic gnocchi shape with a gnocchi board, ridged butter paddle, or the tines of a large fork turned upside down. Rest the bottom edge of the gnocchi board on the work surface, then tilt it at about a 45 degree angle. Take each piece and squish it lightly with your thumb against the board while simultaneously pushing it away from you. It will roll away and around your thumb, taking on a cupped shape -- with ridges on the outer curve from the board and a smooth surface on the inner curve where your thumb was. (Shaping them takes some time and dexterity. You might make a batch just for practice.) The indentation holds the sauce and helps gnocchi cook faster.
• As you shape the gnocchi, dust them lightly with flour and scatter them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or waxed paper. Set gnocchi filled cookie sheet in front of a fan on low for 1/2 hour (turning gnocchi after 15 minutes). If you will not cook the gnocchi until the next day or later, freeze them. Alternatively, you can poach them now, drain and toss with a little olive oil, let cool, then refrigerate several hours or overnight. To reheat, dip in hot water for 10 to 15 seconds, then toss with browned butter until hot.
• When ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Drop in the gnocchi and cook for about 90 seconds from the time they rise to the surface. Remove the cooked gnocchi with a skimmer, shake off the excess water, and serve as desired.

POTATO GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Wash the potatoes, prick them with a fork and place them on a sheet pan. Bake them until very soft, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Resist roasting them at a higher temperature to speed up the process--you want the skin and flesh just inside the skin to become crusty.) Cool them slightly and scoop out the insides. Rice the scooped potato with a ricer, or mash them with a fork. Place them in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth to retain their heat. The potatoes must be used while they are still very warm.
• Beat the eggs and yolk lightly together in a small bowl. Add them to the potatoes along with the flour, rosemary, salt, a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Mix gently with your hands until all the ingredients are well incorporated and the dough is smooth.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured flat surface. Lightly knead and add a little more flour if the dough is overly sticky. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, uncovered.
• Roll the dough into thin 1/2-inch thick logs and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Using a generous amount of flour, press each piece against your thumb tip to make a dent or roll it over the back and off the tip of a floured fork tines to make the traditional ridged shape. Place the finished gnocchi on a lightly floured sheet pan. Cook them as soon as possible in boiling salted water. (For every 5 quarts of water add 2 tablespoons of kosher salt.)
• Add the gnocchi to the boiling water. When they rise to the top, let them cook for a minute or two and then remove them with a slotted spoon. Drain well and toss with butter.

EASY POTATO GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Cook potatoes (with their skin on) in boiling water until tender. Allow the cooked potatoes to cool slightly, then carefully peel while holding potato with a kitchen mitt.
• While still hot, puree potatoes through a ricer, food mill, or hand style cheese shredder and shred them into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool completely before proceeding. You can 'flip' the bowl to toss the potatoes to help them cool. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
• Add the cheese, flour, salt, and pepper and toss again by 'flipping' the bowl (similar to sauteeing a pan over a flame).
• Add in the egg and mix by hand to form a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Briefly knead the dough to incorporate the flour, being careful not to overwork. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces and return them to the bowl.
• Working in close proximity to the stove, lightly flour your hands, and have a fork ready. Roll each piece (one at a time) into a long rope, about 1/2-inch in diameter, flouring your hands lightly only if needed. Slice the ropes into pieces 1-inch pieces.
• Holding one piece at a time, gently press and roll the balls of dough against the back tines of a fork so slight indentations are formed (dip the back of the fork tines in flour as needed). Repeat with each piece of dough either keeping the pieces on the counter (or you can drop them right off the fork into the boiling water as you make them).
• Gently drop the gnocchi into boiling water and wait for them to rise to the top. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more then remove the cooked gnocchi with a slotted spoon or skimmer. Pour sauce over top and serve.

POTATO GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prick potatoes all over with fork. Bake 70 minutes or until soft. Cool 10 minutes or until easy to handle.
• Lightly flour baking sheet. Slice potatoes in half and scoop flesh into large bowl. Mash until no lumps remain, but potatoes are still fluffy. Fold in flour, egg, salt and pepper. Divide dough into 8 balls and transfer to lightly floured work surface.
• Roll 1 dough ball into long strand about 3/4" thick. Cut into 1" pieces, and place pieces on prepared baking sheet (although this is not mentioned in magazine, now is the time to get fancy making indentations with a fork if you so choose, so that your gnocchi will have the pretty, familiar pattern -- just roll each 1" piece between your palms a bit then press with the tines of a fork before placing on baking sheet). Repeat with remaining balls of dough.
• Bring large pot of water to a boil. Drop quarter of cut gnocchi into pot and cook 2 minutes, or until gnocchi rise to surface (my gnocchi were extremely fat, so I let them boil about a minute after they popped to the surface and they seemed to come out fine). Transfer to serving bowl, and repeat with remaining gnocchi. If serving later, toss with vegetable oil to keep gnocchi from sticking together. Otherwise, top with desired sauce and serve.
• I found that I only needed half of these for a VERY FILLING dinner for two. The other half kept quite well in the fridge tossed with oil to be served with another sauce on another night; I just reheated them by boiling for a couple of minutes. The good news is that these can be frozen quite easily. While they are spread on their baking sheet, freeze them through, then pop them in freezer bags until needed. To heat, place frozen gnocchi in boiling water for 7 to 8 minutes. Make a lot and have homemade yumminess whenever you want.