Recipe Finds : Gnocchi (lumps)

Gnocchi (lumps)

I don’t think I have ever eaten these doughy pasta forms. It said that these are French pasta made from potato from potatoes and flour. I tried then by letting them stew in potato soup and they were good. Someday I will make something fancier or use part of recipe and make it with fish , chicken or beef.


Gnocchi con Scampi ( Scampi & Gnocchi) - from Tessa Kiros' Italian cookbook venezia

* 9 to 10 scampi (langoustines, red-claw, or large shrimps) —you need about 5 1/2 ounces scampi meat
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 tablespoon cognac, or brandy
* 1 tablespoon cream
* 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Tomato sauce

* 1/2 (14-ounce) can peeled tomatoes
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/2 white onion, finely chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1/4 cup white wine
* pinch of pepperoncino

Gnocchi

* 1 1/2 pounds (4 medium) russet potatoes, washed but unpeeled
* 1 cup all-purpose flour, less if possible



Method

First, clean the scampi. Peel, remove the heads, & devein. Cut up the flesh into 3 or 4 pieces. Rinse, pat dry with paper towels, & set aside.

To make the tomato sauce, put the tomatoes in a food processor & pulse until quite smooth. Heat the oil in a large skillet, & sauté the onion until it melts & is pale golden but well cooked. Add the garlic &, when you can smell it, add the wine & let it bubble up until it has evaporated & the onion is frying again. Then add the pulsed tomatoes, some salt & pepper, & pepperoncino, & simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, or until you have a nice loose sauce, not too thick. Add the cream and bubble up for a moment. Keep warm while you make the gnocchi.

To make the gnocchi, cook the potatoes in their skins in boiling salted water until soft. Remove & drain. Cool a little, then peel. Pass the warm potato through a potato ricer. Mix in as much of your flour as necessary to make a very soft dough—the less flour you have to use, the better & softer your gnocchi will be. Cut off chunks of the mixture & gently roll out logs about 3/4 inch thick, without pressing down too hard. Cut into pieces about 1 inch long.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over the highest heat until it starts fizzing. Add the scampi pieces & cook until they are golden on the bottom, all the liquid has evaporated, & the scampi are once again frying in the butter & there are some crusty bits here & there. Add a little salt, & when the scampi are golden in places & the flesh is bright white & soft, add the cognac & ignite the pan, standing back so that you don’t burn yourself. Add the scampi to the tomato sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add half the gnocchi to the boiling water & cook until they bob up to the surface, then lift out with a slotted spoon. Add to the hot tomato sauce while you cook the second batch. Once the gnocchi have all been added to the tomato sauce, increase the heat to high & add about 4 tablespoons of the gnocchi cooking water to loosen things up a little. Fold everything together.

Allow the sauce to bubble away & toss the pan by flicking your wrist to coat everything rather than stabbing at the gnocchi with a spoon to mix together. Serve immediately into flat bowls or plates, with chopped parsley & a grinding of black pepper.

Serves 4 (abundantly) or 6 (scantily)

NOTE: "In Italy, we get potatoes that say on the bag they are perfect for gnocchi. If that doesn’t happen where you live, try to choose russet potatoes of a uniform size so that they will all cook to more or less the same softness at the same time." Tessa Kiros

Reprinted with permission from © Venezia Food & Dreams by Tessa Kiros, published by Andrews McMeel click for book review

Food Finds : The Hotest Pasta in the world (it's in Cambridge, MA baby!)

I worked at Harvard University for 3 astronomy projects. I loved just strolling down to Cambridge and trying the Caribbean, Thai and other food. While I took in many restaurants, I missed this place. I was in Providence in March but I wish I was also back in April to run up to Boston and try this famous night’s hottest entrees. A special night and a menu that includes the hottest delectable entrees featured here in the entertaining Travel Channel’s Man vs Food.
The hottest grub was rated on a scale of 1-9 with the hottest being the Pasta from Hell, the featured entree of this episode while engaged with the East Coast Grill not rated #32 most popular restaurant and the #9 (now) best fine dining rating.
http://www.eastcoastgrill.net/menus/hellmenu.htm

The hottest pasta in the World uses the hottest goat chili. He survived it. I don’t usually go for really hot items preferring to opt for spicy and flavorful versus just HOT.

When I make it here sometime I might try the

9.50
Smoked Duck Leg ... with Pineapple - Red Curry, Coconut & Chick Pea Crisp (4 Bombs)
or
9.50
Dry Fried Chile Squid Taco ...with Roasted Green Chili
or
Boston Bay Spit - Roasted Jerk 1/2 Chicken ... with Inner Beauty Hot Sauce, Banana Guava Ketchup, Rice N' Beans, Plantains & Callaloo Greens (5 Bombs)
17.50

Eggplant Timbale- eggplant and pasta and more

I was working out and spied Giada De Laurentiis (she's gorgeous) on the TV's Food Network channel. (hey I always go there to watch when I work on the treadmill). Also was good looking was the recipe which she made - this timbale with its strips of eggplant in backing dish. It has several steps and takes 40 minutes to bake once in the oven. But it sure is worth it when it comes out and you eat the melded spices, vegetables, cheeses and more. I rated this 9.6/10 which is really great!
PS I just used regular mozzarella cheese ( the kind in the recipe is much more expensive) and only 1 eggplant. Bad mistake. You need 2 eggplants to plate this exactly as written if you will present it plated upside down per instructions (I did not). Also if you want more eggplant which is great with the rest you need 2 eggplants.Some people think it is too time intensive but it was fine.

Eggplant Timbale

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Neapolitan

Ingredients

* 2 medium eggplants, sliced 1/4-inch thick
* 1/3 cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 pound penne pasta
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1/2 pound ground beef
* 1/2 pound Italian pork sausage
* 1/4 cup Marsala wine
* 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
* 2 cups store-bought marinara sauce
* 1 1/2 cups diced smoked mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces)
* 3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus 1/4 cup
* 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
* Special equipment: 9-inch springform pan

Directions

Directions

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or pre-heat a gas or charcoal grill. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the eggplant slices with 1/3 cup olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the eggplant until tender and colored with grill marks, about 4 minutes per side. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

Meanwhile, warm the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the beef and pork, and brown the meat, breaking it into bite-sized pieces with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the peas and marinara sauce and stir to combine. Add the cheeses, basil, and cooked pasta. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the springform pan with the grilled eggplant. Be sure that the slices overlap and hang over the edge of the pan. Fill the pan with the pasta mixture, pressing down to make sure the pan is filling up evenly. Fold the eggplant slices up over the top of the pasta and add a few more slices on top to completely enclose the timbale. Bake the timbale until warmed through and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Let rest on the counter for 10 minutes to set.

To serve, invert the timbale onto a serving plate and remove the springform pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese over the top. Slice and serve.