Gluten free Gnocchi

Last year this time, we tried (in vain, with a gooey icky mess) to make gluten free gnocchi.

It was bad enough that we didn’t try again until two days ago – oh, we made frozen GF gnocchi, but at $6 – $8 for a bag that serves us four, it can get a bit spendy.

So I went looking, again, for another recipe. I found this recipe, and decided to give the variation of cooking method a shot.

Note: Cup Cake Kitteh’s recipe uses metric weights, not cups or ounces. If you have a scale that can convert, you may want to use it.

We have such a scale, but I decided to wing it and go by the feeling of the dough. When making gnocchi, the resulting dough should not be too sticky – you should add the flour (or flours, if mixing your flours) until the dough is no longer sticking to your hands.

Yes, hands – you do not want to beat the dough, nor should you over-knead it. If you over do it with the mixing, the gnocchi will be tough when cooked.

This recipe also ends by cooking the gnocchi in a fry pan, instead of boiling. We tried boiling some of them, and they were dense and goopy sticky – not yummy. So either we’re doing something wrong when cooking, adding the wrong ingredients to the dough, or gnocchi is just supposed to be goopy sticky (tho I do not remember it that way pre-gluten free days).

Pan-fried gnocchi are YUM.

Gluten Free Gnocchi

• 2 Lbs russet potatoes
• 2 Large eggs
• 2-3 Tbs chickpea flour
• 2-3 Tbs potato starch
• 1/2 Tsp xanthan gum
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Puncture each potato with a fork, and bake the potatoes until soft.
2. Remove the potatoes from the oven, and when cool enough to handle, cut in half, scoop out the flesh, and then use a potato ricer to finely grate the potatoes.
• This part is very important – the potatoes must be fluffy and lump-free – the ricer does the job perfectly.
3. Chill the resultant riced potatoes until they are cold (about 40 minutes or so).
4. Put the riced potatoes in a large mixing bowl, and add the xanthan gum and eggs.
5. Start the addition of the flours/starches by adding 2 Tbs of each (the chickpea flour and the potato starch). Mix by hand, using your fingers to gently mix the ingredients.
• If the dough is still sticky, add a bit more starch and flour until it’s just barely not sticky.
6. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
7. Lay out a piece of parchment or wax paper, large enough to hold all the gnocchi.
8. Using your hands, pull off enough dough to make a ball about 3/4 inch in size (roll the dough in your hands).
• This is a messy step, and a bit time consuming. Elicit some help – great use for idle children’s hands…. ;)
9. Roll the tines of a dinner fork over each ball, slightly flattening it and causing ridges.
10. In a pan, heat your oil of choice (as you can see in the picture above, we used pancetta fat – YUM).
11. Cook the gnocchi until golden brown on both sides. Serve with your choice of sauce and enjoy!