Gnocchi- Best Pronounced N-Y-U-K-I-E!

While I was in Piazza Navona this past Sunday watching tons of the people eating outside of the cute little cafés surrounding the square my stomach started to growl. The sweet smell of tomato sauce consumed the air so much that I just could no longer resist. After circling the piazza for nearly 15 minutes looking at menus and secretly scoping out other peoples meals from a distance, I finally picked place to sit down and have a relaxing lunch. I opened the thickest menu I had ever seen and peered down the list of pasta entrées. I stared at the picture of gnocchi for at least three minutes and decided to take a chance even though I have never really liked that particular type of pasta unless it was cooked by my mom before. When I was little I hated gnocchi and called the yuckies while refusing to eat them. After taking my first bite I could safely say that my mom still holds the record for the best gnocchi that I have ever tasted. Although the sauce at café Ai Tre Tartufi tasted quite good, the gnocchi could be best described as potato rocks. I know that pasta al dente is supposed to be one of the Italian traditions of pasta, but in all seriousness I am not trying to crack a tooth during my time in Italy.

At home we follow and old family recipe to make our gnocchi but for those who have never tried it before a general recipe calls for five major ingredients. Three pounds of russet potatoes, two cups of all purpose flour, 1 extra large egg, half a cup of vegetable oil and a small dab of salt. After mixing all of the ingredients, begin forming the dough by softly kneading for four minutes or until it is not sticky or too wet. Cut the ball of dough into ¾-inch pieces and gently roll over it with your fingertips to make a cylinder shape. Then, cut the long dowels of dough into 1-inch pieces. After the pasta starts to float to the top of the boiling water use a strainer to drain the water. Part of our family tradition is to roll the one inch pieces with our pointer finger and middle finger into a slightly concave shape. We do this process to make the pasta cook quicker and to keep them from becoming too heavy and hard. Now that you have the recipe, I recommend you try it yourself and begin your own pasta making traditions. My family always has so much fun in the kitchen, socializing and joking around during the process of making our homemade gnocchi!

Recipe provided by: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_5283,00.html