Potato Gnocchi With Chicken Livers And Pancetta Food

SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI WITH BROWN BUTTER, CRISPY PANCETTA AND SAGE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Poke holes all over each sweet potato with a fork, then rub all over with oil. Place on a baking sheet and roast until tender when pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove and discard the skins. Quarter each sweet potato and pass a few pieces at a time through a ricer, landing the fluffy strands in a medium bowl; discard any stringy bits. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to mix. (Alternative method: Remove the skins after baking then grate the sweet potatoes on the large holes of a box grater.)
• Bring a large wide pot of water to a boil over high heat.
• Meanwhile, whisk to combine the flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Create a well in the center. Add the riced sweet potatoes and egg. Gently fold with a rubber spatula until just combined. Be sure not to overwork the dough!
• Transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface. Bring the dough together with your hands, adding up to 1/4 cup flour, until the dough is just slightly sticky and can be patted into a disk. Let rest on the work surface, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
• Cut the dough into 4 equal wedges. Working with one wedge at a time, roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick log on a lightly floured surface. Cut each log into about thirty pieces. (The gnocchi will be slightly sticky in the center.) Transfer to a baking sheet and cover with a dish towel.
• Cook the pancetta, stirring occasionally, in a medium skillet over medium heat until golden brown and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon. Remove the skillet from the heat and reserve the skillet with the fat in it.
• Generously season the boiling water with salt. Reduce the heat to medium and carefully drop a batch of gnocchi into the water and cook until they begin to float; remove to a serving platter with a slotted spoon. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi.
• Heat the reserved skillet and fat over medium heat. Add the butter and cook, stirring occasionally with a silicone spatula, until brown flecks appear, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the sage and gently fry in the brown butter until just crispy, about 1 minute.
• Pour the melted butter on the cooked gnocchi. Top with the sage leaves and crispy pancetta pieces. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired. Enjoy while warm.

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.

PERFECT POTATO GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Pierce the potatoes several times so that moisture can escape during baking. Bake the potatoes in a preheated 400 degrees F oven for 1 hour until fork tender. Peel the potatoes while they are still hot and press them through a potato ricer. Put the potatoes in a large bowl with salt, baking powder, and egg white. Add the flour a little at a time and mix with your hands until the mixture forms a rough dough. Do not over-work the dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Gently knead the dough for 1 or 2 minutes until smooth, adding a little bit more flour, if necessary, to keep it from sticking.
• Break off a piece of the dough and roll it back and forth into a rope, about the thickness of your index finger. Cut the rope into 1-inch pieces. Gently roll each piece down a wooden gnocchi board while pressing a small dimple with your finger. The gnocchi should be slightly curved and marked with ridges. This will allow the pillows to hold sauce when served.
• Boil the gnocchi in batches in plenty of salted water. The gnocchi are done about 2 minutes after they float to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon, and serve. If not cooking immediately, place the gnocchi in a single layer on a baking pan dusted with flour. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.
• Note: If the gnocchi start to feather and fall apart in boiling water, you need more flour. If the gnocchi don't float after 2 minutes and are hard, you used too much flour.

POTATO GNOCCHI WITH PANCETTA, PEAS AND SAGE

Steps:

• To make the gnocchi:.
• Wash and dry the potatoes. Slit each one or prick with a fork. Place in a 375 degree oven and bake for approximately 1 hour or until tender all the way through.
• Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skin and run the potatoes through a food mill or potato ricer onto a baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator until the potatoes are cold.
• Put the riced potatoes on a floured flat working surface. Sprinkle the salt, the cheese and about 1 cup of the flour over the potatoes. Create a well in the potatoes and add the beaten egg.
• Begin mixing the ingredients together with your hands and kneading the dough lightly. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky but be careful not to add too much flour or knead the dough too much. This will make the gnocchi very heavy and tough. (You can test out your dough by boiling a little water and dropping some of your dough into it to cook. If they fall apart you will need to add more flour. If they are heavy and tough, then you have added too much flour.).
• Cut off pieces of dough and roll them out with your hands into ropes about the diameter of your thumb. Then cut the ropes into about 1 inch pieces. You can also roll each gnocchi over the back of a fork to create ridges if desired.
• Put gnocchi on a baking sheet with plenty of flour to keep them from sticking to each other and the pan.
• To make the sauce:.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the pancetta. Cook until crisp.
• Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds then add the sage. Cook another 30 seconds.
• Add the chicken broth and peas and cook over medium high heat until the liquid is reduced by half.
• Lower the heat to low and add the butter and cook until melted and the sauce is slightly thickened.
• Cook the gnocchi in boiling water. They will rise to the surface when they are done. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and let drain. Add them to the sauce and gently stir together.
• Serve with additional cheese at the table.

GNOCCHI WITH PANCETTA, SPINACH & PARMESAN CREAM

Steps:

• Cook the gnocchi following pack instructions, then drain. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp of the oil in a small pan and fry the garlic, then add the cream and a good grating of nutmeg. Put to one side.
• Heat 2 tsp of the remaining oil in a frying pan and cook the pancetta until crisp. Add the gnocchi and fry until it starts to turn golden, adding a little more oil if it begins to stick. Stir in the spinach, lemon zest and seasoning.
• Stir the Parmesan into the cream sauce. Spoon the gnocchi onto plates, drizzle over the sauce and scatter with pine nuts. Serve with extra Parmesan.