How can one pass up a recipe that states "Making light, delicate gnocchi is easier than you'd think." I have always liked and often ordered gnocchi; a trait I think, my daughter has inherited. I recall the soft, chewy, little pillows of the potato pasta, swimming in a wonderful tasty red sauce, sometimes a creamy cheese sauce.
I was to make gnocchi for a dinner party that we were invited to several years ago. Unfortunately I could not make the party. However Andy, my husband did attend, bringing with him the recipe and ingredients. From what I recall, they had fun making the gnocchi and it turned out well.
Leafing through my next book to cook from, I came across this recipe and just had to make it. As the recipe stated, it was easy, and fun!! And they were truly "little pillows" The sauce you choose really makes the dish. For basic gnocchi really has no flavor being made from only potatoes, flour, salt and egg. The dough actually invoked memories of homemade play dough with a less salty scent. Not sure if that is a good thing when your are making dinner.
There were three sauces to choose from: Browned Butter & Sage, Creamy Gorgonzola, and Sausage and Leek Ragù. I chose the latter, being "somewhat" health conscious, I passed on the cheese sauce and I knew that Andy would like the meat sauce more than the butter and sage, which I would have loved. And I was right. He raved over the sauce. He asked that I save this recipe to use in other pasta dishes. He even was recommending other ways to use it, such as a sauce over shrimp or scallops . The sauce was really good I have to admit. It was made up of sausage, leeks, tomatoes, parsley, thyme and marjoram. Fresh marjoram always smells like an old cedar chest to me. Good thing that scent does not come through in the recipe!
I was going to rate this recipe a two on the success meter for I thought the gnocchi did not have the light, chewy texture that I was used to; it seemed doughy. And I was right. I must not have cooked it long enough, though I cooked it as the recipe stated. We had second helpings of this dish, and the gnocchi sitting in the sauce had cooked a bit more and became more firm and had that pleasant chewy texture that I like.
Success meter (1-3): 3
Ooops! Ignore those beautiful mushrooms....for tomorrows breakfast!
