Mom Hammond’s Gnocchi
3 pounds Russet Potatoes
2 ½ – 3 cups Flour
1 Extra Large Egg
1 teaspoons Fine Sea SaltBring a large pot of water to a boil. Don’t season it. Cook the potatoes until tender, but firm (read, “not mush!”). Cool and add a “scant” tsp of salt. Use a potato ricer or mash well. Potatoes should not be lumpy.
Flour a pasta board or your counter. Make a ring with the mash potatos then surround it with a ring of flour. Leave the center open, like you’re making a “well” (think “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” with the mountain hollowed out!).
Add a slightly beaten egg to the center of the “well.” (in that open space you’ve left).
Gradually incorporate these ingredients well by gradually “pulling” these ingredients together, kneading until a round ball of dough is formed. You want it to be bread dough like – like a giant ball of playdough! Using floured hands take a small amount of dough (maybe golf ball sized) and roll them out to form long ropes (don’t roll too thin, should be about 1/2″ around).
Cut diagonally into 1″ pieces. Using your thumb, press to curve gnocchi slightly or you may use a fork’s tines to add lines to gnocchi. The finished gnocchi should have a slightly dry consistency.
Let them sit for about a half hour.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Gently drop gnocchi in a few at a time.
Let them cook 3 – 5 minutes. They will let you know they are done by floating to the top. Drain and serve with your favorite pasta or pesto sauce.
Originally published in “Gnocchi … Family Style (Which Means Sans Recipe)“
Quinoa & Parsnip Salad With Balsamic Glazed Tofu
Combine quinoa, pistachio and parsnips, letting cool slightly before adding pomegranate. Stir in remaining lemon thyme, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add olive oil and/with lemon and toss to coat.
