Gnocchi (Ñoqui)

Gnocchi is so yummy! It makes me miss Argentina a lot. Most of the time, when someone thinks of Argentina, they think of the stereotypical Mexican culture with sombreros, beans, tortillas, and interesting mustaches. But, I'm here to say that Argentina is not like that! It's actually has a lot of European influences, especially when it comes to food. I ate a lot of pasta, bread, meat, and potatoes. And with this diet, I was able to try an amazing kind of pasta called gnocchi, (written Ñoqui in Spanish). It is kind of like a dumpling. It's a dough made out of potatoes and then boiled like pasta and smothered in whatever sauce you want or butter. Now's your chance to be fancy and adventurous and try a dish I ate in Argentina. (Not only is it popular in Argentina, but my husband ate it in Italy!)

There are a couple of ways you can make gnocchi.  You can bake the potatoes first then let them cool, or you can boil them and let them cool. I just boil them to make the process go faster, but for better flavor, bake the potatoes for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 350° F.

Gnocchi

3 lbs. potatoes  $.60
3 eggs  $.36
2 cups flour  $.16
2 tsp. salt  $.02
pepper

Wash and peel potatoes. Boil them until you can easily put a fork in them (same soft texture like boiling potatoes for mashed potatoes). Drain potatoes and mash them. While they are still hot, beat them until all potato chunks are gone. Cool in fridge for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are room temperature (stir potatoes occasionally to help cool them faster).
Once the potatoes are cool, add eggs and beat till smooth. Add flour, salt, and a dash of pepper and mix until dough is smooth (it should still be slightly sticky, but not too much).
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. knead in more flour if dough is still sticky. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
Then, there are a few different options (depending on how motivated you are to make these look fancy).
1. you can roll out dough into 1/2 inch thick logs (like making a snake with play dough), cut the pieces into 1/2 long pieces. Then you can flour a fork and roll over the piece to make an indent. (this is the ideal look for gnocchi).
2. Follow the first step, but skip the fork business. They'll just be little round logs.
3. If you really don't have time, roll out the dough with a rolling pin until 1/2 inch thick. Then use a pizza cutter and cut out your pieces.
Fill saucepan up 3/4 with water. Bring to boil. Add gnocchi to boiling water (about 30 pieces at a time or so) and cook until they rise to the top (this will be one 1 MINUTE or 2!). Once they're floating, remove them with slotted spoon and drain them well.
Serve with sauce of your choice or with browned butter and sage.

Here's a picture of what they look like right after you cut them.

Tips: for different methods depending on time, try the different steps I gave. If you are not going to cook them all at once, freeze the dough (it will last up to 2 weeks). Try serving with red sauce, butter, herbs, cheeses.

Total Estimated Cost: $1.14
Servings: 8
Cost Per Serving: $.14