Recipes

Cold Hands’ Need to Knead: Rustic Hand-crafted Gnocchi

Perhaps you share my experience, perhaps you understand this uniquely seasonal phenomena. Perhaps, despite your greatest efforts in trying to decipher the recipes on Wild Thyme and Sweet Pea, nothing can be done to rescue me from the terrible jokes and ridiculous puns that I break like eggs into a pan. While nothing can be done about the latter, I can assure you that there is certainly hope for your winter woes and frozen toes.

Firstly, I thought to mention how this recipe came to my mind and why it seemed like an interesting feature. It didn’t begin in a remote Tuscan village, nor was it quickly penned down from the words of a sage on his deathbed or from a Platonic conception of itself; it was much simpler than that. Gnocchi-making was often reserved for on rare and coveted occasion for the family to get together and roll up these wonderful potato dumplings on their forks on a long table, sharing anecdotes and stories of misadventure.

I decided to try this recipe with my housemates – the second family – and to see what degree of fun and success we would have. It all began in recent times with the fact that no matter what I do or how I adjust the climate of the room, my hands have remained fidgety and impatient and always freezing cold…

gnocchitile

Sometimes these hands are so cold that even making a quick broth seems like a chore, chopping garlic worse than the vampires themselves and academic essay writing even more of a torture than they already are. Those of you in the Northern Hemisphere may take no notice and frolick as freely as an escaped nun from a convent beneath the summer Sun. I’m talking about an ailment that gastronomy is so wonderfully equipped to battle. It is time to equip yourself with the secret weapon of those who say NO to numbness and cold in their hands.

Forget the majesty of snow, the awe of sleet or the mystery of condensation on the windows of the house during the wee hours of the morning; the ugly head of winter has reared its symptoms in havoc over our daily lives. Having a scorching hot shower only helps temporarily. The pickled chili sauce makes your eyes water and your tongue catch ablaze.

Wearing two pairs of socks, three layers inclusive of a short-sleeve, polyester pullover and a pashmina and a pair of grandpa-slippers doesn’t help. I’m talking about the greatest boon for cold hands, a boon for icy-hearted individuals who have forgotten the spirit of the season and those who are just downright starving for something wholesome, which cooks in 2 minutes and makes the best use of your Sunday, your loving hands and housemates.

Break out the black pepper, potato and pesto and get ready for a 101 on making your very own gnocchi.

INGREDIENTS
3 or 4 large, parboiled starchy potatoes
1 tablespoon pure olive oil
1 tablespoon tepid water
1 1/2 cups flour
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tablespoon pesto (optional)
1 egg
pinch of sea salt
pinch of black pepper

  1. Parboil and peel your potatoes. Place aside and allow to cool completely.
  2. Prepare a large portion of counter or table space, and sprinkle liberally with plain white flour. Have forks ready.
  3. Pour in olive oil, egg and potatoes into a bowl or a pan and mash until all lumps are taken out. Slowly add flour and mix with hands. Add in water only as mixture toughens.
  4. Mix thoroughly with fingers until springy and slightly moist – but not sticky – consistency is achieved.
  5. Roll into a single mass and divide into portions with a knife. Rub into flour that is located on the table or counter.
  6. Knead and roll out individual portions into long sausage-like shape until thinned out at approximately half a centimeter in diameter.
  7. Cut centrimeter-long pieces from each of the sausage shapes and roll each piece in flour.
  8. Push and glide each piece over the fork until a crease pattern is maintained (as shown pictorially above).
  9. Freeze for up to a month or cook immediately in salted boiling water. Remove from water once cooked – that is, when gnocchi pieces rise to the surface of the water.
15 June 2009   ·   1 comment

One comment to “Cold Hands’ Need to Knead: Rustic Hand-crafted Gnocchi”.

nicola — June 17th, 2009, 5:21 pm

never tryed with pesto, I will.

The Wild Thyme and Sweet Pea project found its roots when it was plucked excitedly from the garden, washed briskly in a basin of water and lovingly left out to dry in a soothing marinade of vision and ambition ... More »

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