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!

I’m a believer

Ok – so a soon as you write something, you’re taking the chance of having to ‘eat your words’ so to speak.

I was seriously craving a plate of spaghetti bolognaise last week. Not a shred of spaghetti in the house (‘course not – we don’t have gluten stuff in the house).

Well - ‘cept for the cave-in to the kids, the rice-based spaghetti. Craving, meet wall.

So – I crafted a truly nummy red sauce, added some browned Italian sausage, cooked up that rice-based spaghetti.

I was wrong. I admit it. I had said “I have to be honest – rice-based pastas are just NOT the same as regular pasta.” (Tortillas)

I’m gonna blame the fact that when we first started trying to get good gluten free stuff, we inevitably tried some really crappy stuff. Yea – that has to be it. Because, frankly, the spaghetti was fantastic, just the right mouth feel, just the right flavor.

The brand, you ask? Lundberg. Lundberg Brown Rice Spaghetti, to be exact!

Very yummy, very satisfying. I highly recommend. The kids did too – the sucked it up. Amazingly, this stuff even reheats well too – a trait we’ve found hard to to come by in gluten free pastas (they tend to get tough).

And we even did a traditional baked pasta dish by parboiling a bit of the Lundberg Brown Rice Penne, and then mixing with ricotta, left over sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and some milk. YUM – cooked up perfectly (it was a pasta heavy week last week).

What? You want that sauce recipe? Well, it’s not really a recipe, but here ya go:

Kim’s red sauce

• 2 Tbs good olive oil
• 1 Tbs garlic (fresh preferred, but can use the pre-minced stuff)
• 1 Can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 Can (15 oz) tomato sauce
• 1 Can (15 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes (can substitute another can of crushed tomatoes, but I highly recommend using the fire roasted varieties)
• 1 Cup good red wine (never cook with what you won’t drink)
• 1 Tsp basil (or more to taste)
• 1 Tsp oregano (more or less to taste)
• 1 Tsp thyme (or more to taste)
• 1/2 Tsp black pepper
• 1 Tsp salt

In a heavy bottom pot, simmer the garlic in the olive oil until just translucent. Do not burn the garlic. Add the tomatoes, carefully (or you’ll end up with oil burns), and then add the rest of the ingredients, including the wine, and stir to blend. Cook over low heat partially covered for at least 1 hour. The sauce should just simmer, not boil. Stir frequently, and taste periodically. Adjust seasonings as needed to your taste.

Enjoy over your favorite pasta, or any other red-sauce friendly dish.

Enjoy!