Basil Romano Gnocci - Gigi Siguenza

Basil Romano Gnocci

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Type – Pasta

Creator – Gigi Siguenza

Yields – 6 1-cup servings

Ingredients

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4 large baking potatoes

2 large eggs

1 tbsp of olive oil

2 cups flour

1 tbsp crushed basil (if fresh, diced very very fine)

1 tbsp crushed oregano (if fresh, diced very very fine)

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground thyme

½ tsp of black pepper

½ cup grated romano cheese

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Prep

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- Peel potatoes, place in large pot with enough water to cover them completely, boil until tender

- Remove potatoes from water and let sit just long enough for them to be cool enough to handle but still quite warm

- Using a potato ricer, rice all the potatoes into a bowl (you can use a potato masher if that’s all you have, just be sure not to over mash)

Make Dough

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- In a small bowl, add eggs, olive oil, and all ground spices, then whisk and set aside

- in another bowl, add flour all crushed herbs, and grated cheeses, and whisk to distribute evenly

- Once all potatoes are riced/mashed, make a well in the center and pour egg mixture into well

- Use a paddle type spoon, turn egg into potatoes until distributed

- Using your hand, begin to knead dough in the bowl while adding flour mixture to the potato mixture

- When the dough is silky, firm, and slightly sticky, stop kneading

- NOTE - Resist the urge to keep adding more flour and over knead – the longer you knead, the more flour you add, the heavier the gnocci will be

Make Gnocci

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Lightly flour surface and roll out the dough to about ½ inch thick

Here you can choose whichever cutting method you prefer from the following

- cut long ½ inch wide strips of dough, then roll like ropes to smooth out edges, then cut ½ inch pieces off the rope

- OR

- Cut long ½ inch strips one way, then cut across those strips the other way, to make ½ squares

- Once all the pieces are cut, you again have several options for how you shape your gnocci

- Traditional gnocci has a slight shell type shape with ridges along the back, which are attained by using a gnocci board to press/roll the little dough pieces across the ridges on the board, which also curls the dough around your finger

- But since most folks don’t have a fancy gnocci board, you can do the much faster, home made method of simply rolling the little square of dough once across the surface to smooth edges slightly, then pressing gently between two fingers and thumb to create the distinctive curl indentation

- If you want the ridges, simply hold a fork in your hand, with the tines against your first and second finger, and press the little dough piece gently against it with your thumb… this will achieve the ridges and the indent at the same time… play with it until you find a method that works for you

Cook Gnocci

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Bring a pot water to boil, adding a dash of olive oil to the pot

Place gnocci into the boiling water (don’t over crowd pot, there needs to be room for them to roll with the boil, so do it in batches if need be)

The gnocci will sink when first placed in the water and will float to the top when they are done

Let gnocci ride the top boil for a minute before scooping out with a large slotted spoon

Place in serving dishes and serve with a marinara sauce

Yields 6 1-cup servings of gnocci (nutrition break down is based on this serving size)

Nutritional Info

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Servings Per Recipe: 6

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 466

Total Fat: 8 g

Total Carbs: 77 g

Dietary Fiber: 6 g

Protein: 20 g