I love gnocci, me. Mine isn’t very pretty, but it’s good. It’s good when it’s hot, anyway.
I made some for Christmas Day but, by the time it was transported to where the party was and waited until all the other food was ready, it was pretty clammy. Kind of like oily art gum erasers.
They’re easy to make.
Gnocci
Boil some whole potatoes. Cool them. Peel them. Mash them. Add what you like; this time, I added dried basil, lemon zest, and salt. Mix in enough plain flour to make the dough smooth and un-sticky.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces to make it easier to work with. Roll each quarter of dough into a rope about 1-inch thick. Cut the rope into 3/4-inch pieces.
Roll each piece between your thumb and the tines of a fork to make an indentation on one side and ribbing on the other. Set them aside on a floured board.
Boil a big pot of salted water. Add gnocci about 15 at a time, depending on the size of your pot. You don’t want to crowd them. When they bob to the top and float, they’re done (takes about a minute and a half). Remove them with a slotted spoon and drizzle with vegan margarine so they don’t stick together.
When they’re all done, put them in a casserole dish to heat them all through.
I topped mine with wilted baby spinach.
Wilted Baby Spinach
Heat vegan margarine in a skillet. Add chopped green onions and diced yellow bell peppers. Add a handful of spinach. As the spinach wilts, add more, until the whole package is in there. Put it on top of the gnocci.
Melt some more margarine and pour it over, then bake it until it’s hot through.
I wasn’t surprised that most of it was left. But you know what? It’s EXCELLENT pan-fried the next day!
Charlie doesn’t care for it, alas, which means I’ll have to make a single-serving portion. Before we married, I cooked real food for myself, so I know how to do it.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character does something alone after years of doing it with others. Or does something with others after years of doing it alone.
MA
Dan Antion
December 28, 2016 at 7:13amI like gnocci, but it’s one of those foods where my eyes and my stomach have a different idea about what the ideal portion size is. I do have to mention that, at first glance, it looked like shrimp under that spinach. Mmmm, shriiiiimp. Sorry. It does look very good.
Marian Allen
December 28, 2016 at 7:43amShrimp is one of those foods where my teeth and the cook’s skill often have different ideas about what ideally prepared is. My mom (back when she ate through her mouth) loved chewy seafood, but I like it less rubbery. So she was happy with shrimp more often than I was.
Yeah, gnocci is pretty filling, all right. When we eat ’em frozen, we usually take out about four each. I always think, “That isn’t enough, though,” but it usually is.
Jane
December 28, 2016 at 9:59amExcellent, mouth-watering pix! I bet the food’s good, too!
Marian Allen
December 28, 2016 at 10:50amGood for me, meh for Charlie — WHICH IS GOOD FOR ME! lol
I froze the leftovers spread out on a baking pan (the leftovers, I mean, not me) and put them in a bag. Next time Sara and Zak come over, I’ll thaw them and pan-fry them (still talking about the gnocci).
Joey
December 28, 2016 at 8:01pmOh yes, love me some gnocchi. I have to be in the mood to make it though. This usually goes with blaring Sinatra and a nice white wine 😉
rashida
January 6, 2017 at 2:11pmLove The Site,Go Vegans!
Marian Allen
January 6, 2017 at 3:06pmTruth to tell, I’m not vegan. We have a grown vegan daughter, and we cook and eat vegetarian or vegan a lot because we like it. 🙂 Always on the lookout for more good vegan options. Meat is kinda boring, really.