Date: Mon, 10 Apr 95 12:12:21 EDT
From: Kirstin Reade Wilcox (krw3@columbia.edu)
I decided to resume my previous efforts to make pumpkin gnocchi. The
last time I tried to make pumpkin gnocchi, I followed a recipe (one of
M.F.K. Fisher's in _The Art of Eating_) and it failed miserably. I
kept waiting for the cooked gnocchi to bob to the surface of the
water, and it never happened--they just disappeared. I ended up with
a delicious, if salty, pot of pumpkin stock. This time, I went my own
way:
Pumpkin Gnocchi
1 c. canned pumpkin
2 egg whites
flour
Whisk together the pumpkin and the egg whites until blended. Then add
flour and stir until the dough is thick enough to be turned out onto a
large cutting board or clean table top. Douse with more flour, and
work/knead it into the dough. When fully incorporated add more flour and
repeat. Keep adding flour and kneading until the dough can hold its own
shape. It will still be a little bit sticky.
At this stage, I chilled the dough overnight, but I have no idea if doing
so was essential to the success of my gnocchi--I was just starting to
feel really guilty about those essays I hadn't yet graded.
When you're ready to eat the gnocchi, get a pot of boiling water going on
the stove. Generously flour your board or tabletop and hands. Cut the
dough into fourths and roll each fourth into a cylinder, and slice off
gnocchi-sized chunks. I have to be vague about measurements because I
was having a hard time with my cylinder rolling technique and at one
point just hacked the cylinder in two lengthwise to speed things along.
I aimed for 1/2-inch chunks, but some were bigger than that. Drop into
salted boiling water. As they rise to the surface, remove them with a
slotted spoon, shake off excess water, and put them on a serving plate.
Having once watched Martha Stewart shape gnocchi on TV, I tried to
emulate her technique of pressing them gently against the tines of a form
before dropping them in the water for about half of my gnocchi. They
turned out just as ugly as the ones I more carelessly dropped in the
water without shaping. YM(and skill)MV.
The recipe provided me with two substantial dinners for myself, once I
topped the gnocchi with some leftover TVP chili.
kwovo ovo