Baking/Cooking| Homemade Potato Gnocchi with Roasted Pepper Cream Sauce
“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it…”
Oscar Wilde
Having kids completely changes the meaning of the word Mondays, and the meaning of manic as well. Before ‘they‘ came along, I never had an issue with Monday, e v e r, since the airline industry where I worked with worked the year around on rotating rosters. The cliche “I Hate Mondays” and “TGIF” made little sense to my existence. Not so now. I meant to post this yesterday for Meatless Mondays, but drama is part of our lives. All night Sunday the daughter threw up incessantly … which meant LAUNDRY {that was my first thought!}, and mopping and cleaning till kingdom came. It also meant a 6am dash to emergency to get her a couple of shots to stop the ‘volley‘ {Just as well, there’s nothing almost nothing that an injection can’t fix!!} Yesterday was B A D, but all is well now!
Recently read that quote above @ Barbara Bakes and it fit right in when I saw Sara’s post on beautiful One Tribe Gourmet. I forgot about my last VERY disastrous experience with gnocchi, the elusive little pillows of heaven, which had floated away in oblivion. I forgot that my last attempt, as part of a Daring Cooks challenge, left me crying copious tears of grief, while the sympathetic family slowly slurped the salvaged clouds from deep platters. Remind me never to try gnocchi again I ordered Mr PAB!
He walked into the kitchen, saw me elbow deep in flour, and gave me a quizzed horrified look. Yes, he has the memory of an elephant. “What’re you making today? Haven’t you made this before?”, he said trying to keep it ‘mild’. I suspect he saw my pale face and did the disappearing act, past memories quite obviously reflected in his expressions. Why O why, I kicked myself, did I have to get tempted again? A 2 year gap must have honed my culinary skills in some good way I pleaded with my inner self, yet dashed off to beam the One Tribe Gourmet girl in from twitter! I needed H E L P & a boost of twitter self-confidence!
Luckily she was there, and halfway through my tediously sieved boiled potatoes {I still can’t believe I sieved 3 pounds of boiled potatoes, while Man Friday stared at me bemused!} Bet he never thought anyone would ever push boiled potatoes through a sieve. Well, neither did I, but here I was. Man Friday knows better than to question me when I am elbow deep in dough, so he returned to humming his irritating songs and returned to do the dusting! Tweet-time ….’Sara, help! Am I right or am I wrong? Consistency of the dough? Help help help!’ YIKES, I had done it again! There was no backing off as by now I had the potatoes done & the peppers roasted.
Gnocchi is fiddly, but not as fiddly as macrons. Keep in mind that you must not boil them aggressively on a full rolling boil. A mild simmering boil is good for these pillowy whimsical creatures. You must read Sara’s advice for the perfect gnocchi, and if you still are unsure, catch her on twitter. She is most helpful and one of the sweetest girls around. If you say you know Shahrukh Khan, she might even fly down and make gnocchi for you in your kitchen … she’s his biggest fan!! 
Surprisingly enough gnocchi keep well. We had them for lunch and I boiled some and kept them flat out on a tray for the kids for dinner as they were in school. I thought I’d reheat them, but had second thoughts and decided to make them a little luxurious. So I simmered some unsalted butter with Tuscan spices that my younger sis had brought for me recently, and gently simmered the ready gnocchi in the flavoured butter. The daughter was over my shoulder with a fork, and dug in every 2 minutes to have another! The kids really enjoyed them too, and the sauce with a dash of Worcestershire sauce! It was worth all the hard work, and a great meatless meal. Of course I served it with a char grilled broccoli salad, my favourite winter side from Ottolenghi!
Homemade Potato Gnocchi with Roasted Pepper Cream Sauce
Adapted minimally from Sarah’s post @ One Tribe Gourmet
Recipe Adapted from Ron & Colleen Suhanosky’s book Pasta Sfoglia
Potato Gnocchi
3 pounds Idaho Russet Potatoes { I used our local variety}
3 cloves of garlic, minced
50gms grated cheddar
1 1/4 cup all purpose Flour {extra for dusting} {Original recipe has 1 cup APF}
2 tsp salt
1 egg
Method
Boil or pressure cook the potatoes until tender. {Use a knife to determine if the potatoes are tender}
Drain, peel the potatoes and pass them through a ricer, food mill or a sieve. {I sieved them, a first for me, and though it was hard work, the result was unbelievable smooth}.
Spread all purpose flour on a clean, dry work surface and place the potatoes on the flour. Add the salt, egg, minced garlic & cheddar.
Knead the dough gently into a 10 by 8 inch log. let it rest for 2 minutes.
Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour. Cut the log into 4 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a 1 inch thick rope .
Cut the rope into 1/2 inch wide gnocchi.
Mark the gnocchi with rolling it over back of a fork. {These marks help the sauce cling to the gnocchi}
Boil the gnocchi on medium high heat. Drop few gnocchi pieces at a time. Let the gnocchi come up to the top and drain.{I fished them out with a tea strainer}
Add to the sauce.
Roasted Red Peppers & Cream Sauce
4 red bell peppers, roasted
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce {optional/to taste}
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup low fat cream
Fresh Basil, few springs, chiffonaded
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Place the peppers on a baking sheet, coat them with a little oil.
Bake until skins are blistered. Take out of the oven and let them cool covered in a glass/steel bowl covered with a kitchen towel/napkin.
Peel & seed the peppers. Add the pulp into a blender and process until smooth.{I used an immersion blender}
Sauté onions & garlic in the olive oil.
Add the pepper mixture and Worcestershire sauce. Mix.
Add salt & pepper, and then add the cream and basil leaves.
Saute for 2 more minutes over low heat.
Drop the gnocchi into the sauce and mix gently to coat.
Serve with a garnish of fresh basil.♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
This recipe is off to Val’s event Best Thing I Ever Ate (recently) challenge at More Than Burnt Toast.
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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India
Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
29 Comments
Sally
Thanks for the warning – I always thought that gnocci looked so easy – appearences are deceptive. I’m going to try them…but when I’m not rushed for time. I have a ricer (inspired by Nigella Lawson’s praises) which makes lovely smooth mashed potatoes – I can’t believe you would sieve potatoes either! The red pepper sauce is right up my street. My ‘todo’ Delicious bookmark is rather overused at the moment but this is going there right now.
marcellina
I love gnocchi and make them regularly but never with this amazing roasted pepper sauce! To die for!!!! And your photos as ever, are fantastic!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen
I’m sorry to hear about your daughter not feeling well, I hope she is all better now. I’m happy to see that your gnocchi making attempt this time around was a smashing success for you! I am feeling inspired to try my hand at gnocchi making again myself after seeing Sara’s and your results.
Tahemeem
Love ur entire troubled story 🙂 i know i am not suppossed to laugh… but it was so nice to relate 🙂 and u write really good… i feel like i am watching a movie… please take it as a compliment… 🙂 i never made gnocchi.. but i would love to have some… and listening to ur saga… i am a bit scared… 🙂 but kudos to u that u made it right 🙂 congratulations… i love the clicks and love the vessels… and the gnochchi and pepper sauce look so tempting 🙂
CurryLeaf
PERFECT pillows of heaven. Love the gnocchi thgh I am yet to make them from scratch. They look simple,but the process can be disastrous as well.
Mallika
Hi Deeba, you have a lovely blog here. Nice to see a post on Homemade Gnocchi, it’s tempting me to make mine at home. Having tried making pastas at home, your post on Gnocchi is definitely worth the attempt. I am sure one can’t wrong with these simple ingredients, atleast I hope! I know you’ll be around if I need help 🙂
Jagna
Lovely recipe, very nice sauce and amazing pictures.
Jelna
Roasted red peppers are a tradition in Serbia and I have them stacked up in my moms freezer. Beautiful dish!
Joyti
I’ve never tried to make my own gnocchi,, its one of those things I intend to do, but just never got around to. If I do, I’ll have to remember to avoid heart-break and try your ‘gnocchi – beginner’ recipe.
O, and your sauce sounds divine too…
Jessica @ How Sweet
I love homemade gnocchi and this red pepper sauce just sounds delicious.
jean
you make it sound so eassssy!!!! yet i am terrified to even try them again…
Rosa
Gorgeous gnocchi! That dish looks so mouthwatering and beautiful.
Cheers,
Rosa
suma
Tell me about a different perspective to Mondays after kids come along! I LOVE LOVE MONDAYS, as its such a peaceful day after insane weekends. My hubby too has learnt (the hard way) to be politically correct when I appear to be ‘stuck’ with dough:-) Loved reading every line of this post!
Gnocchi is something I always think of as ‘restaurant stuff’, your homemade version looks even better!!
Helena
My first attempt at gnocchi ended in me and my family eating soggy potato-lumps. They tasted really good, but they just absorbed way too much water. But these look great, I guess I have to try again. Plus, I love the sauce 🙂
Heavenly Housewife
Gnocci is something I’ve always wanted to try making. Looks wonderful, and I love the sound of the sauce.
*kisses* HH
Prerna@IndianSimmer
Yay, u posted the recipe! I had no idea that u r gonna post ur version of Sara’s gnocchi today and its funny ‘cos today i was planning to try them at home myself! Sent a tweet to u abt it yesterday too 🙂
Thanks to u for trying it and letting me know that it was “not” that difficult I gathered the courage to try today. Lets see how it goes for me. Yours looks gorgeous!
pavithra
Love the post Deeba… oh my Gnocchi is one my favorite one and home made fresh gnocchi’s wow I loved it …
Sara
Oh Wow Deeba, your gnocchi turned out better than mine! I’m so glad the recipe worked for you! And Thank you sooo much for your kind words! I feel honored & humbled that you mentioned me on your wonderful blog! Luv ya lots Deeba ji!
p.s. If anyone knows SRK and I can meet him…I will go anywhere to make gnocchi for them!!! ;-)) {all in fun} Ahem, I love him like a brother! ;-))
Sara
Oh and I forgot to tell you that I was in SRKs movie!!! They interviewed me and my friends in D.C. when he was visiting for a show!!! :))
Kulsum@JourneyKitchen
I was really inspired to when I saw Sara’s post on gnocchi and I had it on mind to try it and now that you have made it too, I can’t wait for the weekend! Gorgeous.
P.S. hope your daughter gets well soon.
Priya
Gnocchi looks absolutely divine, sooo yumm!
Cakelaw
This gnocchi looks sooooo goood – it would brighten up even the scariest Monday. Would love some for my lunch!
bellini
You did it Deeba!!! They also freeze really well! I love the cheddar added in your little pillows. I usually add ricotta which makes my gnocchi as light as a cloud. Thank you so much for including this in my event the Best Thing I Ever Ate (recently)…there are so many dishes on your blog that are memorable.
shaz
Awww, sweetie. Well done. I f you hadn’t told your tale I wouldn’t have guessed it was a struggle for you. They look perfect and sound delicious! Glad that daughter is feeling better now. I’ve tried potato gnocchi a couple of times, they are quite painstaking, and I have found that ricotta and spinach gnocchi is a much easier gnocchi to attempt (sorry I cannot remember the recipe off the top of my head, must go look it up).
Ameena
Gnocchi has always intimidated me! Actually, I can’t even cook the pre-made ones properly. So I am really impressed with your skill! This looks delicious.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Haha Deeba we are so alike! I always cannot help going back to something. I hate there being something that I can’t do. I may curse and carry on while doing it but damnit I will do it! I hope the daughter is ok? That doesn’t sound very good at all!
nancy at good food matters
Deeba, good for you! after your 2 year hiatus, you yielded to the temptation and made some gorgeous gnocchi. You’re right, for something so deceptively simple, they are indeed tricky. A gentle simmer makes a huge difference. Roasted red pepper sauce is wonderfully sweet–perfect on those potato gnocchi. Cheers!
Bill Brikiatis
Gnocchi are so much work! But I’ve had some luck freezing them. Sometimes the frozen ones turn out well and sometimes not. I think it has something to do with the type of potatoes I use. Russets seem to work well.