C – It’s always interesting when I haven’t tried something and I am put into the fire to try making it or eating it.
This was one of those days. (Warning. My diet really went away with this one.) Luke was really excited to get back into the Be Mindful. Be Human. kitchen. He was ready to whip up some gnocchi. I was really excited too. I’d never had gnocchi before.
Riced potatoes and some flour formed into little pillows. I wondered how good it was going to taste. Of course, I wasn’t concerned about the taste or texture. It was going to be perfect. Luke was making it. It had to be good.
I have heard from many people that making gnocchi was hard and it’s easy to mess up. Of course, Luke makes everything look easy. As usual. He has been making gnocchi for years. There is no one better to teach me. Gnocchi doesn’t take long to make. A few potatoes, a couple of egg yolks, some flour until it all comes together and is manageable.
Once the dough comes together everything gets removed from the bowl onto the counter top. It time to make the gnocchi. Roll part of the dough into a long thin snake. Then, crimp and cut into ¾ inch pieces. They were ready to be boiled. It really didn’t take long.
It tasted great. Soft pillows of potato, flour and egg mixture filled my mouth. Luke made this great carbonara sauce. The dish was so amazing. I wanted every bite to last. I really didn’t want it to end. The carbonara was salty, cheesy and creamy all at once. There was crunchy bacon, sauteed mushrooms with crispy fresh arugula, along with the pillows of gnocchi to give you every texture you ever wanted in a dish. It was so delightful.
Of course, Luke warned that too much of a good thing can be bad. Gnocchi will make you quite full quickly. So, he suggested we pace ourselves when I asked for seconds.
Luke made 4 servings for us. He used only about a quarter of the dough. There was enough gnocchi dough to feed a small army. There was a lot. I asked Luke what he was going to make with the rest. He said he wasn’t going to make anything. He left it for me to make the rest. Just to practice.
GREAT!!! My nightmare of working with dough continues. I tried it out. It looked easy enough. My first batch didn’t turn out as great as Luke’s did. Luke effortlessly took care to place each gnocchi so they wouldn’t smash into each other when cooking.
| Gnocchi with Carbonara Sauce |
- 3 russet potatoes
- 2 whole eggs
- All-purpose flour as needed. Start with a 1½ cups
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ cup parmesan reggiano, finely grated
- ¼ cup of cream
- Salt and pepper to taste. Generous amounts of black pepper
- 1 slice of 3/8 inch thick slab bacon, 2 ounces, small dice.
- 3 button mushroom, cut into wedges
- 1 medium sun dried tomato, remove from oil and julienne
- 2 cups baby arugula
- Carbonara Sauce
- Gnocchi
- Boil potatoes until fork tender, but not falling apart. Cool slightly and peel.
- In a large pot, boil water for cooking gnocchi. Roughly 10 quarts, so gnocchi will not be crowded.
- Rice potatoes into a bowl
- Add eggs, salt, pepper and flour. Combine well and knead. Add more flour if necessary. Texture should be like a fluffy pillow. Do not over knead.
- Cut into manageable-size pieces.
- Roll out into a long “snake” about ½ inch in diameter. If it gets too long, just divide it.
- Cut with paring knife into ¾ inch pieces. Dust with flour as you go.
- In small batches (one snake per batch), boil gnocchi until they all float. Wait another 30 seconds and then remove with slotted spoon.
- Transfer to a sheet pan and coat lightly with oil to prevent sticking.
- Set aside.
- Whisk egg yolks until they begin to have a little body. You are incorporating air into the eggs.
- Continue whisking while you slowly drizzle-in cream. Do not stop whisking. Continue until the mixture increases in body (becomes less runny).
- Add parmesan while whisking until combined.
- Add salt and generous amounts of black pepper.
- Set aside.
- Cook lardons in a medium saute pan. Remove pan from heat and set aside. Reserve all the bacon fat.
- In a separate pan, saute mushrooms on high heat in a little oil until they are nicely browned. They should not release liquid when cooked this way. Set aside when done.
- Prepare a medium mixing bowl, a large mixing bowl and the serving plates in advance, since the next part goes quickly.
- Place baby arugula in large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Reheat the bacon on medium. Add mushrooms and desired portions of gnocchi and saute until gnocchi are golden.
- Transfer gnocchi/bacon/mushroom mixture to medium mixing bowl.
- Add sun dried tomato
- Add carbonara sauce and incorporate quickly, but carefully. The residual heat will cook the eggs and form the final sauce.
- Add mixture to large mixing bowl and toss to combine with baby arugula.
- Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
I, on the other hand, piled them up and didn’t make it pretty. Everything smooshed together. All my shapes turned to big messy balls. They were still edible. But, I don’t think I would have been proud enough to serve it to Luke. After a few tries I got the hang of it. It got easier and still tasted great.
Thanks, Luke, for showing me how to make gnocchi.