Chef Ben Says: Make Gnocchi

Gnocchi (pronounced nyo-kee) are the most overlooked of pastas. These delectible, light yet hearty dumplings are the most primitive of pastas. They are so easy to make, in fact, that with a little practice, you can make an entire batch from scratch before your cooking water ever boils.

I'd love to go into a wordy flowery description of how amazing this dish is, but in the interest of speed, we'll just get down to it.

You're going to start with: an egg, an egg yolk, a cup and a half of ricotta cheese, a cup of flour, a half cup of parmesan and a pinch of salt. In your large mixing bowl, beat the egg and yolk lightly with a fork.

Mix in the ricotta until the egg is incorporated. Then mix in the parmesan, and lastly, the flour and salt. Once the flour hits the bowl, mix as little as possible to incorporate. Don't make a big deal, this is easy stuff.

Next, turn the fairly sticky dough onto your lightly floured counter. Divide into fourths and start rolling each fourth into a "rope" about a foot long. Like this:

Once you've got them rolled out into your ropes, it's time to cut them. I use a bench knife. Cut into about 3/4 inch chunks. Once again, no big deal, these aren't supposed to be perfectly uniform. If you want you can roll them over with a fork for that signature gnocchi look, but they taste just as good if you don't.

Your water should be boiling by now. The rest of the recipe goes like this:

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons fresh sage, thinly sliced

2 cups italian sausage chunks, cooked

1 1/2 cups chicken stock (homemade if at all possible)

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium saute pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Plop your gnocchi into boiling water. The gnocchi will float when they ready, about 2 minutes. This should be enough time for your butter to brown a little. Scoop up your gnocchi, drain, and put into the brown butter. They should sizzle for a couple of minutes, and start go get brown and crispy (mmmmmmm....) on the outside.

Add your italian sausage and sage. Toss to combine, and get the rest sizzling.

Lordy, do those look good. I like them best when it's really cold outside. Anyway, add the chicken stock, and let reduce over high heat for about a minute. Add some grated cheese, cook 30 more seconds and that's it.

Less than 30 minutes to glorious homemade pasta.

So, if you're looking for an amazing homemade dish that won't take you too far down the rabbit hole, by all means, make gnocchi!

Cheers,

Chef Ben