Sunday Gnocchi

My maternal grandmother's family is from Sicily, Italy. Her father immigrated to New York on his own, as a teenager. She grew up in an apartment above her father's Italian Meat Market in Greenwich Village, long before it was the trendy place to live. Though she married an Irishman, most of the traditions that my mother grew up with came from her mother's Italian side of the family. One such tradition is the big, Sunday dinner. Every Sunday involved church, cooking, baking, eating, and family.

As assimilation would have it, the traditional Sunday dinner that my mom grew up with has slowly been taken down a notch or two, but a few times a year, my grandmother still invites everyone over for Sunday dinner and cooks up storm. 

Dinner is served around two or three, a concept my non-Italian husband still does not understand. (Is it lunch or dinner? ;) Everyone squeezes around the dining room table, set with fine china dishes. A large array of foods take up every inch of the table. Grace is said and the feast begins. Each person grabs whatever dish is in front of them, takes their share and passes until everyone's plate is literally overflowing with food. Seconds are insisted upon by my Grandma. I kid not, if you do not take seconds she is personally insulted. (For someone like me who is used to eating small portions, this part of the dinner can be quite stressful!) Only when everyone is forced to loosen their belts, is the meal considered finished. The women immediately begin clearing dishes as the men retire to the family room to watch whatever sport is in season. A short time later, just as your stomach is starting to feel normal again, it's time for dessert!

This past Sunday I decided to try a recipe I found in the April 2012 edition of  Food Network Magazine for homemade gnocchi. The recipe involved several steps that, in themselves, were quite simple: shredding, baking, kneading, etc. But because there was a waiting period following each step, the entire process was pretty time consuming, encompassing the duration of the day from first thing in the morning, through the afternoon and evening.

Even though it was just my little family of three enjoying the meal together, for some reason, it reminded me of Sunday dinner at my Grandma's.

There was something very gratifying about serving my family a dinner that I had made from scratch, literally with my own hands. I knew exactly what went into each of those little pasta-potato balls and that fact was incredibly rewarding. The difference in taste from the packaged variety was definitely worth the extra time and effort.

I made a few changes to the original recipe. For one thing, I did not have a ricer so I used a grater instead. I also used red potatoes in lieu of russet potatoes but any variety would probably work fine.

This recipe yields about 4 servings.

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{Sunday Gnocchi}

adapted from a recipe found in Food Network Magazine

4-5 small to medium potatoes

1 egg, beaten

1 t. salt

1 - 2 c. flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a fork, poke holes all over the potatoes. Spread parchment paper on a baking dish. Pour a mound of salt in the middle of the dish and lay the potatoes on the salt. Bake for about 45 minutes, until fork tender. Cool slightly. 

Cut potatoes in half. Using a fine grater, (the side used to grate parmesan cheese) shred the potatoes. Discard peels. Pile potato shreds into a mound on a clean, floured counter. Set aside until completely cooled. 

Mix salt into scrambled egg and pour over the potatoes. (Yes, this will be messy!) Coat hands in flour. Sprinkle 1 c. flour over potato and egg mixture and mix with your hands. Knead. Add additional flour as necessary. I used close to 2 c. flour in total. Knead until dough is no longer sticking to your hands. Dough should be smooth and elastic. Form into a ball and set aside to rise for about ten minutes. 

Bring water to boil in a medium pot. Using kitchen scissors, cut dough into six pieces. Roll each piece out onto a floured surface, jelly roll style, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut each roll into 1/2 inch pieces. Once all the gnocchi are formed, dust with flour. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil into the boiling water to prevent gnocchi from sticking together. Add gnocchi to water, one at a time. Stir often and gently. Gnocchi are finished when they float to the top. Strain. Stir in another small drizzle of olive oil then serve immediately with sauce of your choice. 

{enjoy!}