CULINARY: Potato Press/Gnocchi

CULINARY

Potato Press/Gnocchi

On a recent trip to Chicago with my daughter I had the opportunity to eat great food--like Italian. I was reminded of all my favorites from growing up in the Midwest and found myself explaining foods to my daughter. As much as food seems to be similar at chain restaurants across the country, there are still some regional differences, particularly when looking for fresh and made from scratch examples.

However, I noticed a particular food missing from our stops--gnocchi. I don't recall eating it while I was young, either.

I've taken an interest in cooking gnocchi, if, for no other reason, it's easier to make than pasta. And I adore almost any food that involved potatoes.

My first step in attempting gnocchi was to locate a potato press, also known as a potato ricer. I don't recall my family or relatives owning such a device while I was growing up, although a forgotten potato masher at the back of a kitchen drawer was common.

Around town, I only found an expensive potato press at the local Williams-Sonoma. Luckily, a friend traveling to Denver was able to pick an inexpensive model for me at the IKEA. (I have no idea why, but I couldn't just order the ten dollar press from their website. And the closest IKEA stores are an all-day drive from Albuquerque.)

A potato press can be used to make fluffy mashed potatoes. A recipe can be found in Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating by Ari Weinzweig. And while great oils, cheeses, meats and pastas can be ordered from Zingerman's, they don't have gnocchi available.

Gnocchi, while simple, isn't easy to make taste good. A basic recipe calls for cooked potatoes, flour and some salt. Weinzweig would probably advise steaming the potatoes, although any method of boiling or baking would work. The ingredients are combined to a pizza dough consistency, then rolled into cigar shape, and cut into small pieces and dropped into boiling water. They float and stay at the top of the boiling water when they are done. That's it.

I advise keeping the gnocchi small. They swell up during cooking and are rather dense and heavy. I am beginning to experiment with adding flavor. While my recipe calls for a pesto sauce for serving, the gnocchi seems to taste better with something thick like a bacon and cream sauce. I recommend gnocchi as a small side dish. It's a bit much for the main course. While I haven't tried it in soups yet, I can recommend coating it in olive oil and adding as a unique ingredient on a meat and vegetable kabob on the grill.