# I want to try making gnocchi



## callmaker60 (Aug 1, 2015)

I don't have a potato ricer, and the only one i found locally was at Penny's for $54, which I won't spend that much for one.  I did find several on line, but trying to avoid ordering online.
So I was thinking, I have a meat grinder with some small hole attachments, my question is does anyone think using the grinder would be ok for ricing my potatoes?


----------



## Kayelle (Aug 1, 2015)

If it's not a burning desire to do it right away, I'd check thrift stores or garage sales for a ricer. I know for sure I didn't/wouldn't pay $54.00 for one. I guess the grinder would work, but be a big mess.
Why don't you want to order on line? Check Ebay.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Aug 1, 2015)

I wouldn't put too much thought into it, I'm sure the old ladies that made gnocchi before the food network came along didn't.

I would use one of these.

Good luck!


----------



## GotGarlic (Aug 1, 2015)

+1, Aunt Bea. I've seen lots of gnocchi recipes that don't require a ricer. Here's one: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/gnocchi-with-butter-thyme-sauce-recipe.html


----------



## Dawgluver (Aug 1, 2015)

With anything involving potatoes, I use what Aunt Bea suggested.  Though I love collecting cooking gadgets, I don't have a ricer.


----------



## Kayelle (Aug 1, 2015)

Oh I agree, nobody really needs a ricer but I'm glad I have one. I don't use it very often, but when I make twice baked stuffed potatoes for company I think it makes a huge difference with the beautiful texture that can only be had with a ricer. I also like to use it to squeeze all the water out of things like cooked spinach.

Check out this old blast from the past...

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f88/1001-uses-for-your-potato-ricer-48185.html


----------



## Andy M. (Aug 1, 2015)

You can use a potato masher or even the tines of a fork.


----------



## CraigC (Aug 1, 2015)

I'm sure you can use a masher, but I think the gnocchi will turn out like lead sinkers as opposed to light, fluffy clouds when a ricer is used. The dough won't get over worked with the ricer. Just saying.


----------



## Kayelle (Aug 1, 2015)

CraigC said:


> I'm sure you can use a masher, but I think the gnocchi will turn out like* lead sinkers *as opposed to light, fluffy clouds when a ricer is used. The dough won't get over worked with the ricer. Just saying.



I think I've only eaten *lead sinkers*, at least that's the way they feel in my belly.
I've never made them but think you may have a point.


----------



## CWS4322 (Aug 1, 2015)

A substitute for a ricer can be a food mill. I like having a ricer. I use it when I make lefse, gnocchi, and perogies. I also use it for squeezing liquid out of spinach and zucchini when making zucchini fritters.


----------



## medtran49 (Aug 1, 2015)

Try Walmart, Kmart, Bed Bath and  Beyond.   I think we got our latest one at Sur la Table and it wasn't that much.  I'd suggest watching the 'family' episode of Master Chef where the pressure test was gnochii in sage browned butter sauce.  I've been making gnocchi for many years and got tips from an Italian nonna.  She used cake flour, mostly egg whites with just a bit of yolk mixed in.  I had never made them the way they did on MC the other night but did when i made them last night, browned in the butter, and they came out really good. Crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.


----------



## taxlady (Aug 1, 2015)

CWS4322 said:


> A substitute for a ricer can be a food mill. I like having a ricer. I use it when I make lefse, gnocchi, and perogies. I also use it for squeezing liquid out of spinach and zucchini when making zucchini fritters.


How the heck do you squeeze the liquid out of spinach or zucchini with a food mill? Does it squeeze out through the holes?


----------



## CWS4322 (Aug 2, 2015)

No--that's  when I use the ricer.


----------



## Addie (Aug 2, 2015)

Aunt Bea said:


> I wouldn't put too much thought into it, I'm sure the old ladies that made gnocchi before the food network came along didn't.
> 
> I would use one of these.
> 
> Good luck!



So true Aunt Bea. Pirates in-laws come from Naples. She uses one of those. Wouldn't have a ricer in her kitchen. And she makes the best gnocci I have ever had. And if you volunteer to do the mashing, you better leave no lumps or you will be tossed out of her kitchen on your ear. It is not easy whipping those 'taters with a masher and no milk or butter to soften them first. But if this little old Italian who is older than me can do it, so can I. I have a ricer. A nice one I bought a couple of years ago. It is still in its package. None of my kids want it. They all have that famous masher in your picture. 

So get busy callmaker. Put those muscles to use and build up some strength and muscle mass. You will then be able to say with pride, "I made these from scratch."


----------



## CWS4322 (Aug 2, 2015)

TL I use the ricer, not the food mill.  Worst kitchen toy I ever bought was the food mill. I hate cleaning it and avoid using it.


----------



## taxlady (Aug 2, 2015)

CWS4322 said:


> A substitute for a ricer can be a food mill. *I like having a ricer.* I use it when I make lefse, gnocchi, and perogies. I also use it for squeezing liquid out of spinach and zucchini when making zucchini fritters.





CWS4322 said:


> TL I use the ricer, not the food mill.  Worst kitchen toy I ever bought was the food mill. I hate cleaning it and avoid using it.


i misread what you wrote. Didn't see "I like having a ricer." D'oh!

I like my food mill even though it's not actually as useful as I had hoped when I bought it. I don't find it as hard to clean as my food processor, even when it doesn't go in the dishwasher.


----------



## Addie (Aug 2, 2015)

I had a food mill and had two problems. The first one was storage. It is an awkward piece of equipment to store. It won't sit inside a pan, and requires a space all of its own. The second one was I really didn't have much use for it except to puree potatoes and a few other veggies. It was a lot easier to just serve them in chunks. And if I really wanted them mashed, then I used a masher.


----------



## callmaker60 (Aug 2, 2015)

Found a potato ricer today, at a local kitchen shoppe, thanks for all the comments and ideas.


----------



## Kayelle (Aug 2, 2015)

callmaker60 said:


> Found a potato ricer today, at a local kitchen shoppe, thanks for all the comments and ideas.



Good for you CM! Like I said before, I don't use it often but glad I have it. There's nothing at all wrong with having the perfect tool for the job.


----------



## GotGarlic (Aug 2, 2015)

Ditto. Be sure to report back on how it goes.


----------



## Kayelle (Aug 2, 2015)

medtran49 said:


> Try Walmart, Kmart, Bed Bath and  Beyond.   I think we got our latest one at Sur la Table and it wasn't that much.  I'd suggest watching the 'family' episode of Master Chef where the pressure test was gnochii in sage browned butter sauce.  I've been making gnocchi for many years and got tips from an Italian nonna.  She used cake flour, mostly egg whites with just a bit of yolk mixed in.  I had never made them the way they did on MC the other night but did when i made them last night, browned in the butter, and they came out really good. *Crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.*



Medtran, if it's not too much trouble, I'd* love* a recipe and detailed instructions for your ultimate Gnocchi. You've inspired me with those words!


----------



## medtran49 (Aug 3, 2015)

Kayelle said:


> Medtran, if it's not too much trouble, I'd* love* a recipe and detailed instructions for your ultimate Gnocchi. You've inspired me with those words!


 
I don't really have a recipe (and neither did she).  She just described the general gist of it and then I practiced and also took in tips from other sources over the years but here goes.  

DO NOT boil or steam the potatoes, not even in their jackets.  Boiling/steaming adds water, which makes you need to add more flour, which leads to lead sinkers.  Microwave or bake the potatoes until done.  Use a starchy potato.  The last batch was made with 1 very large baking potato since it was an experiment, besides the fact that I didn't want to make a lot anyway.  It was a perfect amount for a good sized appy portion for 2.  

Peel and rice the potato(es) while still nice and warm but not so hot you can't handle.  Don't let them cool to room temp or put in fridge.  They will get gummy.   Add salt generously.  White or black pepper too if you want.  Toss (use hands) with the riced potatoes.  

Most recipes call for whole eggs at this point.  What I've discovered is that using mostly egg white, with just a little yolk mixed in seems to make them lighter.  So, with just the 1 large egg for the 1 potato the other night, I broke egg into a small bowl, whipped the egg white w/o breaking the yolk until the white was well broken up, then barely broke the yolk and mixed about half of it in.  Poured egg (minus the rest of the yolk) in with the riced potatoes and gently mixed.  

I will admit I used regular flour cause it was a spur of the moment decision to make the gnocchi and I didn't have any cake flour but I did lighten the flour so that it wasn't packed down.  Cake flour won't form gluten (which leads to toughness) like regular flour will. Started with about 1/3 cup and gently mixed (adding a bit of flour as needed) until I got a fairly soft, very slightly sticky, smooth dough, then kneaded a couple of times on a lightly floured board.  DO NOT overwork the mix, handle it as gently as possible.  

Pinch off a good amount (I did about thirds with the large baker) and roll on a lightly floured board into a log about an inch thick.  Cut off about inch long pieces.  Here's where I differed from the MasterChef episode.  They just left them as is.  I rolled the pieces off the back of a fork to make a little indention on the opposite side and fork tine marks on the other.  I'm going to try leaving them as is the next time I make this particular preparation.  Rolling them off the fork (or using a gnocchi board) gives more surface area to cook faster plus more area for sauce to cling too but that's not really needed for this prep.  

Place the gnocchi into medium boiling, heavily salted water.  As soon as they float, take them out and drain in a colander.  I had always let them cook a couple of minutes after floating but was going with what the MC episode said to do and that's what I'm going to do from now on.  Float, OUT.  

While you are making the dough prep, place about 3/4 stick unsalted butter in a sauté pan with some sage leaves, torn in large pieces or left whole if small leaves, and let gently simmer on low for a couple of minutes, then pull off heat to infuse the butter.  Add S and P.  

When you are ready to finish the dish, remove the sage pieces from the butter (they'll get burned and nasty if you don't) and turn heat to just over medium.  You will be putting the gnocchi in to get them to just a light golden brown on each side.  When you turn them over make a little spot and throw in some sage leaves that have been chiffonaded.  When both sides are brown, remove gnocchi to serving dishes and drizzle some of the browned butter (be careful and watch so it doesn't burn and become blackened butter) and some of the freshly sautéed sage leaves.  

We tried them with and w/o parm.  They were good w/o, but parm added a whole nother taste level so go with your tastes.  

It took me several tries when I first started making these before I managed not to make lead sinkers or close to them.  You'll want to add more flour.  DON'T.  You need to get a feel for the dough so that you don't have gnocchi that come apart when boiled or lead sinkers.  Start small and get a feel for the dough.  1 potato and some flour won't break the bank in money or your time if it flops.  You can always pinch a piece off, shape it and cook it to see if it will fall apart as you are adding in flour while you are learning.


----------



## Kayelle (Aug 3, 2015)

I thank you *very much *for taking the time for such a great post, it's most appreciated.

I've printed it out and must give it a try very soon. 

I hope you also place your post in the Pasta forum where it won't get lost. It's too good to loose.


----------



## creative (Aug 3, 2015)

Does everyone know that fresh gnocci (bought in packets) doesn't have to be boiled but can be baked, e.g alongside pancetta/chopped sausage (something that oozes some fat), tomatoes etc.  On a fairly high heat, giving it a stir round at halfway time.  I love this method since it's not soggy and takes on the flavour of the meat (soaks up the juices more readily).


----------



## medtran49 (Aug 3, 2015)

Kayelle said:


> I thank you *very much *for taking the time for such a great post, it's most appreciated.
> 
> I've printed it out and must give it a try very soon.
> 
> I hope you also place your post in the Pasta forum where it won't get lost. It's too good to loose.


 
You're welcome.  We're probably going to make again soon too, probably add some sautéed pancetta. We were going to do that this time but forgot to take the pancetta out of the freezer.  It's a lot easier and faster to make small batches than what I used to make (5 pounds of potatoes or so at a time) to freeze and I don't really think there's much of a time save overall and I know that gnocchi are definitely better fresh than frozen.  

I'll try to remember to take some pictures next time to add in with a how-to post.


----------



## Dawgluver (Aug 3, 2015)

Very nice detailed explanation, Medtran.  Thanks!


----------



## callmaker60 (Aug 3, 2015)

medtran49 said:


> I don't really have a recipe (and neither did she).  She just described the general gist of it and then I practiced and also took in tips from other sources over the years but here goes.
> 
> DO NOT boil or steam the potatoes, not even in their jackets.  Boiling/steaming adds water, which makes you need to add more flour, which leads to lead sinkers.  Microwave or bake the potatoes until done.  Use a starchy potato.  The last batch was made with 1 very large baking potato since it was an experiment, besides the fact that I didn't want to make a lot anyway.  It was a perfect amount for a good sized appy portion for 2.
> 
> ...



Thanks, gave me some tips to work on.


----------



## CrazyCatLady (Aug 3, 2015)

Mom used a potato masher. Hers were great!


----------



## callmaker60 (Aug 4, 2015)

I made a small batch yesterday, only this time I microwaved the potatoes, riced them, then cooled the potatoes until they were cold, than added some beaten egg, flour, salt and pepper, and they turned out great.

Thanks everyone for the help suggestions, and ideas.  The folks on this site are always eager to help.


----------



## Addie (Aug 4, 2015)

callmaker60 said:


> I made a small batch yesterday, only this time I microwaved the potatoes, riced them, then cooled the potatoes until they were cold, than added some beaten egg, flour, salt and pepper, and they turned out great.
> 
> Thanks everyone for the help suggestions, and ideas.  The folks on this site are always eager to help.



This site has such a large International membership that there is always someone who has the right answer. And sometimes even more than one person. 

Glad they turned out great. You now have a new skill to add to your list of accomplishments. Congratulations!


----------



## CharlieD (Aug 5, 2015)

Meat grinder is perfectly fine. Use it. I do it all the time.


----------

