Lucia's Gnocco

TÜRKÇE İÇİN TIKLAYIN
PER ITALIANO

2 weeks ago I published the first recipe of Lucia that broght her the first prize in a local competition: Abruzzo Style Spaghetti with Meatballs.

Today I would like to share the second recipe that made her win the first prize for the second time in the same competition: Gnocco.

It is one of our absolute favourites.

Stefano says since his childhood he liked Gnocco so much that he used to complain to his mommy "Why do you prepare it for only when there are guests? Make it also when we are alone so I could eat more!" :)

We found some similar "Gnoccone" recipes on the web. Even if the ingredients and the preparation were similar, they weren't quite the same with the Gnocco that Lucia does. 
The main difference is that she doesn't cook au gratin at the end. She just cooks in boiling water, slice and then everyone dress it choosing among varying sauces.

Ingredients (for 1 Gnocco):
Gnocco:
1 kg potatoes
300 g flour
1 egg
10 g grated parmesan
Salt

Filling:
250 g mozzarella, chopped
500 g spinach
1 clove of garlic
1 - 2 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil
Some slices of mortadella or prosciutto cotto or turkey ham etc.

Sauces we used for the day:
Ragù Sauce
Mushroom Sauce
Melted Gorgonzola cheese
and Grated Parmesan


Preparation:

• Wash potatoes. Put them in a pot together with water and cook.

• Peel potatoes while they are still hot. (Lucia and Ezio keep the potatoes with a fork while peeling so that their hands don't get burnt.)

• Mash peeled potatoes with a potato masher or vegetable mill.

• Let mashed potatoes cool.

• Prepare filling. Trim off roots, wash and drain several times until spinach leaves get completely free of dirt. Chop spinach coarsely. 
• Put olive oil in a pan. Saute finely chopped garlic a little. 
• Add spinach and salt. Close the lid and cook by stirring every once in a while.
• Let it cool aside.

• Tagliare la mozzarella a cubetti.

• Put cooled mashed potatoes on working surface. Add egg, grated parmesan, flour and a pinch of salt. Knead until until you have a nice smooth dough.

• Get a very large pot. Measure well the bottom of your pot. 
• Sprinkle a little flour on the work surface. 
• Roll out dough with a rolling pin considering that later, when you roll it into a log shape, it should fit in your pot.

• Spread first spinach, then mortadella slices and diced mozzarella over the dough.

• Start rolling from the shorter side. Roll gnocco into a log shape, seal the ends nicely.

• Wrap it in a clean thin cloth. Tie both ends and the center with kitchen string.

• Bring water to boil. Add salt and place gnocco. Cook for 40 minutes. (The day we made gnocco, we prepared 3 of them. 1 gnocco to give away as a gift, 2 to enjoy with our guests.)

• Take cooked gnocco out of pot and unwrap it gently over serving plate.

• Cut gnocco into slices using a sharp knife and a spatula as in the picture.

• Bring serving plate onto the table.

• Serve immediately into the plates.

We filled some serving bowls with mushroom sauce, ragu and grated parmesan so that everyone could dress as they wished.

Here are some examples.

A slice of gnocco with mushroom sauce and grated parmesan.

A slice of gnocco with ragu sauce and grated parmesan.

A slice of gnocco with melted gorgonzola cheese, mushroom sauce and grated parmesan.

Enjoy...