Apr
11
Gnocchi with a wild boar ragu
culinary exploration
Follow me through the adventures that take place in my kitchen, in restaurants or in other kitchens. Cooking and food are my passions and I want to share my experiences of cooking, baking and eating with you.
I'm a Greek self-taught cook who lives in Chicago. I learned a lot about cooking from both of my grandmothers, my mom and dad, family and friends. Passing on timeless traditions through food is one thing I strive to do in life.
These are my journeys through culinary exploration...
clraptis (at) gmail (dot) com
Culinary Exploration - Grecian Kitchen
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Posts tagged gnocchi
Nov
23
Gnocchi in a Pork Ragu from Portobello in the downtown Disney area
One of the sales reps that I work with is Italian so he LOVES to find the best Italian restaurant for dinner. We were discussing what we were going to order and when I said the gnocchi he told me he wanted the same, but was skeptical. He’s very particular about the texture of his gnocchi and was worried they would over cook it as many restaurants do. Trust me, there is nothing worse than a mushy potato dumpling.
I risked it and was more than pleased with my meal. I let the rep have a taste of the gnocchi and he wasn’t disappointed either. They were cooked perfectly - firm on the outside with just the right softness as you bite into them. But the star of the dish was the sauce. This pork ragu is supposedly “grandma’s recipe” and it tasted that way. The shredded pork was plentiful and the sauce was very rich. I won’t be surprised if I find myself in my own kitchen soon trying to recreate this sauce.
(sorry for the poor quality of the photo - had to use the camera on my phone)
Oct
26
Sweet Potato Gnocchi in a Brown Butter Sauce
I saw this recipe on an episode of ‘Everyday Italian’ and was intrigued by how Giada made gnocchi from scratch with such ease. I’ve always wanted to try this - so I looked up the recipe and got to work in my kitchen.
Here is my version of her recipe with a little adjustments to make it even easier.
INGREDIENTS:
For the GNOCCHI
2 lbs. sweet potatoes
2/3 c. ricotta cheese
1 ½ t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper
1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour (plus extra for the work surface)
For the BROWN BUTTER SAUCE
½ c. unsalted butter (1 stick)
20 fresh sage leaves
1 t. ground cinnamon
2 T. maple syrup
1 t. salt
½ t. freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into even sized cubes (for even cooking) and place in a sauce pan. Cover potatoes with cold water, cover and bring to boil over med-high heat. Once the water is boiling, remove lid and boil until fork tender. Pay attention to this - if you don’t remove the lid in time, you’ll have a HUGE mess to clean up!
Drain and transfer to mixing bowl. Mash the sweet potatoes until smooth and transfer to a measuring cup. Make sure the mashed potatoes measure about 2 cups. Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes back to the large bowl and add ricotta, salt, cinnamon and pepper and blend until thoroughly mixed. Add the flour, ½ cup at a time until a soft dough forms.
Lightly flour a work surface and turn out the dough onto the surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls.
Roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope.
Then cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll the pieces over the tines of a fork to get the typical gnocchi indentations.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt well. Add the gnocchi in 3 batches and cool until tender, but firm to the bite (about 5-6 minutes per batch). Drain the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and transfer to a baking sheet or large plate. Tent with foil to keep warm while cooking remaining gnocchi dumplings.
For the sauce - melt the butter in a large sautee pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted add the sage leaves. Continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until the foam reduces and the butter starts to turn brown. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cinnamon, syrup, salt and pepper. Toss the cooked gnocchi in the sauce and serve immediately.
