I have a little treat for you guys today. Shrey Kamerkar, Sous Chef at Hyatt and my future husband, has been kind enough to guest blog for me.
He's created some simple gourmet dishes which will make your plate look spectacular, and your cooking skills seem 5star ready. I will be sharing his recipes in a 3 part series starting with this Gnocchi recipe.
For those of you who are wondering what on earth gnocchi (pronouced nyo-kki) is, it is a kind of pasta made from potatoes. In its essence, it is a boiled potato dumpling which you can serve with a variety of sauces.
Makes enough for 6 people
4 Potatoes (approx 250gms)
2 Beetroot
2 Egg yolks
1 cup Flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Fill a large pot with water & bring to boil. Peel & cut the potatoes & beet in half and add it to the water. Add in salt to taste. Bring to boil and cook till extremely tender (approx 40mins to an hour). Once done, scoop out the veggies with a slotted spoon. Save the water to recycle later.
From now on, you would have to work relatively quickly. Mash the veggies immediately. I used a masher and passed it on a sieve so that I got a really fine end product. Don't over mash, just aim for an even consistency with no noticeable lumps. Also, take a minute and admire the beautiful colour!
Now let this mash cool long enough so that its warm, but won't cook the egg when you add it. Get ready to get your hands dirty. Put the mashed veggies in a large flat surface. Make a 'well' in the centre. Add the egg yolk in this 'well'. Sprinkle the rest of the ingredients across the top. With your hands, mix to incorporate all ingredients until its like a sticky crumble. Now dust some flour on your hands and the flat surface, and knead to a dough. Add some flour if its too sticky. The final dough should be moist, not sticky.
Now I made rough 'tubes' out of the dough by rolling it on my palms. This is quick and easy if you aren't too fussy about shapes. But traditionally the dough is rolled to a snake like log and thumb sized pieces are cut using a knife. You can also shape the gnocchi with a fork (but seriously...who has time for such fancy work?).
Dust with some flour if needed, and add to boiling water. I reheated the potato & beetroot water and used it instead (more eco-friendly). If you are starting afresh, make sure your pot is salted. Cook the gnocchi in batches by dropping a handful at a time. You know they are ready when they pop to the top. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon a minute after they pop up. Ideally I would recommend making the sauce before hand and dropping these babies in the ready sauce. Since I was too lazy to have some sauce ready, I dropped them in cold water to stop them from cooking.
For the sauce:
100gms butter
2tbsp finely chopped Garlic
1 cup White Wine
There is absolutely nothing better that gnocchi in some pesto. But since this isn't traditional gnocchi I'm going to make a simple yet delicious, butter garlic sauce. In a sauce pan, melt the butter and add in the garlic. Sauté for 2mins. Turn up the heat to high and add in the white wine. Swivel the pan to incorporate. Don't panic if it flames up. Now reduce the heat and add in the gnocchi. Toss in veggies if you like. I added broccoli, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Sauté for another minute or two. Serve immediately.
Such beautiful colours in one dish! Its almost too pretty to eat.
You can obviously add meat, but don't divert the attention of this dish from the gnocchi dumplings.
